Assassin
by Monkeybandit2
Summary: AU. Resulting from an act of self preservation, a warrior of the shadows takes the first step into shaping the life of a young man aspiring to be the best of his similar field of expertise.
1. Chapter 1

Assassin

Chapter 1: Reckoning...?

Calric 4: Region: Aurora Desert

He knew it would end up like this, maybe not when he was a young man himself like countless others who came before him... like those who will come after him as well. He had no real regrets, if anything he felt... relief knowing his end was coming. Why? He could only guess, but regardless of the outcome of that avenue that would not stop the assassin sent to end his own life. It was almost ironic really, poetic in a better sense when he stopped and thought about it; poison kills poison, soldiers kill soldiers, and assassins... kill assassins. He only had one problem with it.

He never once liked Death-Cult assassins. Bloody fanatics, not how a proper assassin should act.

He would admit they are lethal in their own right. Yet in his mind there was no excuse in going hand-to-hand with _everything_ they are sent to kill. Then again he was never one to favor being skewered to begin with now that he thought about it... The only cold comfort to his predicament was the fact this one was neither bloodthirsty or _chatty_, if you call shouting praises to their lord being chatty while on the job, no... she was like him... a veteran. She was here to kill him, plain and simple, and from the one time they did have eye contact he saw the one thing he was expecting: contempt for him.

She was his opposite in his chosen path; she stayed, he left. Assassins of the Imperium only had two choices when on the field: do or die. He choose option three, run away, a option no assassin should not even think to exist let alone take, _especially_ a _Vindicare_ assassin; as far as anyone in the Imperium is concerned he is nothing more than the epitome of a loathsome heretic, a vile traitor, someone who needed to die. That was why she was here. After all, every branch of his service lived by the popular slogan of 'death to the heretic.'

He trounced the Guard, he outfoxed the Marines, he repeatedly humiliated the bloody Sisters much to his satisfaction, and no one has yet to catch his trail when he was made known to the Imperium; he was reminded of a old lesson that was left to gather dust in the back of his mind till now thanks to her, 'never send a soldier to do a assassin's job.' It was a game of cat and mouse with them, and he was losing if the three stab wounds were any indication. At least he was going to be killed by a professional.

XVX

Fortune was not the word of the day in his mind as he planted his last IED (Improvised Explosive Device) behind a barrel of oil, and tuned the remote detonator to the frequency of the bomb. He bought time. He relived the very same reason he was being hunted down, he ran away from the angel of death that haunts his shadow. Instead of simply turning tail and running off, he triggered an avalanche and left her to sort out the debris of that canyon. But he knew that wouldn't stop her, he only bought time.

Now he was holed up in an old factory, or at least what appeared to be one judging from the discarded machinery and oil drums to grease them. It might have been someone's laboratory actually, those machines didn't look like they were meant to build something... He grabbed his rifle and ascended the only surviving staircase in this forgotten place. A perfect grave for him if anything. He chambered his very last round he had ready into his one and only partner in all this.

He stood atop the rusted platform built precariously over the unknown machina below and took aim, not once glancing at the scope of his rifle, at the door way leading into the room. He took a tentative step back over the rotting metal to ensure he's hidden in the shadows, but he knew she would find him regardless. He only had one shot.

She didn't disappoint the seasoned killer as she stepped inside, each step was measured and lax. Both of the swords that were moniker of her profession glinting their brilliant razor edges in the specks of light that pierced the room thanks to the years of neglect to the building. A lone finger all but gropes the worn trigger of the rifle.

She stopped after but two paces from the door and looked directly at her prey's shadowed form, one lone visible eye meeting the visor equipped helmet of the 'coward' that was her target. He only had one shot, and now was the time. This move they both knew was as predictable as it was certain. She humored her former compatriot of the shadows, she headed straight into his small gauntlet that was his last stand.

The bullet was dodged with the dancer's grace that was both her training and her experience as she darted forward with drawn sword following like elegant felines trained to follow their master's command. She jumped over the first obstacle that was a merely a barricade with a IED hidden on the top, hiding right on top. It did not clip nor distract her as it roared in destructive fury. She almost danced past the second IED, this time acting as a landmine. Another failure to impede her advance. The third one, also a mine also danced past... right into the path of a IED dropped from the ceiling high above. This one did force her to retreat via a back flip, the first of many to take her to the stairwell leading up to her target despite the purpose of the trap.

She wasted not a second, she leaped up and climbed the safety railing of the stairwell. The last of the explosive guardians went off without hope of catching its intended victim, and setting off the small line of oil drums that either destroyed or set ablaze anything in the radius of their respective detonations. Neither paid heed to the now blazing background as the female counterpart of the two took the time to ascend to the top on the typical path up the stairs.

When the last step has been passed both assassins gazed upon each other one last time. One could wonder why they did so, out of respect between killers soon to engage and prove whom is the superior of the two? Taking note of what could be their respective end? Or perhaps gauging the other and mapping out their attack plan? Regardless they took in the facts worth noting of.

To the Death-Cult assassin, she saw in the growing light that was the fire below what was typical of any assassin often associated with the Imperial Guard regardless of their rank, a full body suit lacquered to a dark grey, points of his suit darker than others, points which were often associated with relatively common attacks on one's person, i.e. his forearms, his shins, his chest, and his head. She knew from experience that these areas were reinforced to defend him from his target's weapons as she could easily attest to from previous encounters. She still could run him through despite the added difficulty. The helmet of her adversary was typical to her, covered the head to reveal nothing of his identity with a visor made of reinforced glass also darkened to the shade of grey that was his suit, two tubes jutting along the underside of his jaw to a single point that was a almost rectangular with a touch of rounding mask that doubled as a voice synthesizing unit and a breathing apparatus to defend him from gas attacks plus enable him to stay under water of long periods of time. Ultimately if she wanted to discern his identity then the helmet has to come off, unfortunately it would most likely accompanied by his head should she be the victor. His only means to defend himself, other than the sniper rifle strapped to his back, was a drawn knife and a drawn heavy set pistol without a finger hovering over the trigger.

For the ex-Vindicare, he observed what was also typical for him save for one feature. Illuminated by the raging flames climbing higher with the passing of each minute, he observed her bronze colored form fitting body suit, the only obvious protection that was given to her was a obviously armored chest piece fashioned to look like scales protruding downward to prevent a upward blow from a hand least they suffer a deep gash, a pair of white wrist guards and on her left arm was a form of partially armored sleeve that he could not place in term of name despite his years of service. Then there was the feature that he was idly curious about since this all began for them, she had no hood. Typically a assassin from one of the Death-Cults would wear a hood made from the same fabric that made up the body suit, and for some reason beyond him they left the mouth open for all to see. She seemed to forsaken the hood all together. If he didn't know any better, the face he saw now was that of a young woman barely breaking out of her early twenties that just gotten out of, or perhaps even started, her training to be his polar opposite in terms of style. Where a Imperial assassin typically used a sniper rifle at most if not forced to use another weapon, a Death-Cult assassin used a sword in every battle they got into.

Her hair was a platinum blond, bordering on white that was combed into a bun at the back of her head save for a heavy lock of hair reaching over and covering her left eye. Her skin was smooth, taken care of obviously with a practiced hand, and bore only two blemishes: a dot of a beauty mark tucked away at the corner of her eye, and a scar that was only a centimeter past the hair covering her eye, from the looks of it went up to her eye. He couldn't tell do to the hair. The only eye visible he could see was a blue one, a weathered blue at that; still emitting the all but instinctual hate for him for abandoning his duty to the Imperium and the Emperor. He couldn't help but wonder if his eyes looked like that at one point of his life.

Neither had spoken one word to each other through the whole ordeal. The flames have reached and started to devour the roof with abandon, drowning out any other noise in their insatiable hunger for fuel. Neither had anything to say to the other to begin with. Neither even screamed or bellowed at the other as they charged.

XVX

His gun was seemingly useless as a club against her as he wailed on her time and again, its purpose now modified to deflecting what strikes from her sword he could block. His knife was suffering a far worse fate than the gun as he parried a fair number of stabs that could've ended his life long before now. He didn't have the luxury of pondering how many more strikes from the angel of death he could survive against with the shape of his knife was in. He grunted in pain as she delivered what would be the twelfth kick to his ribs, this one finally cracking the bone under the suit. He hunched over himself with a arm favoring his wounded side. Unfortunately for him his opponent wasn't falling for the ruse; she was like him indeed, a veteran in killing. She launched a sword at his leg while keeping its twin held high above her head to parry the counter-attack.

Seeing no choice, the ex-Vindicare leaped back at the ready for her assault to be renewed. Even with the rampaging flames blocking out all sound, he didn't need to hear the sickening crack of rusted metal as the floor under him was giving way. A fact not unnoticed by his assailant. She back flipped onto a piece of railing and used it to leap up high above her target. The end of their game was nigh. But the end the end was not going to be without something to remember him by. He didn't move, there was no point, what was left of the platform since they started their dance of death was either destroyed from their cooperative efforts or was on fire now, and despite the quality of their armor, flames are known to be destructive to a good deal of things. He raised his pistol at her as she descended; he may have had one shot in the rifle, but it wasn't his last bullet.

He fired. The shoulder of her bronze body suit was now being coated in a lovely shade of red in the chaotic light of the fire. The angel of death that was his own assassin merely smiled at him as the blades pierced his chest, a smile belonging only to a specter of death that haunts the last moments of every creature that awaits their demise; it was as serene as it was surreal.

She kicked off of him when the floor broke, she did not look at him as she hurtled over the railing to the same door way she entered in her hunt for him. It didn't matter to her, for few can survive the torrent of flames the room has became once being wounded and knocked out. The job was done.

If she bothered to look however, she would've seen those strange machines have sparked to life, when, it was hard to tell, but a orb of eerie blue light was suspended over an apparatus shaped like a ring. She would have also seen her target being swallowed up by it with the debris that was the walk way.

XVX

Unknown planet

The former Vindicare slammed into the earth front first, arms and legs splayed out from the force of impact... there was even a indentation of his landing underneath him... along with the scraps of metal, with a inconveniently large piece 'harmlessly' landing on his back, at least it was the flat side.

Between the kicking, stabbing, slicing, rib breaking, and being abused by the forces of gravity, he could only sum it up in one word that escaped the synthesizer of his helmet in a gravely deep voice, "Ow..."


	2. Chapter 2

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. **

**To Trooper0007: You would have to wait and see. (Meh he he)**

**I would like to apologize to anyone who reads this in advance, I will be tossing in terms often seen by other writers in the Naruto-verse but I will be writing more in the english setting, so terms like sensei (teacher), [name]kage ([name]shadow), and other terms I'm familiar with or lead to believe is accurate I will not use, things like "-kun," "-chan," etc will not be seen.**

Assassin

Chapter 2: A new purpose...?

Elemental Nations

It was five months by his reckoning since he arrived to... where ever here was. A planet unknown to the Imperium. A planet that would most likely be forced to endure Exterminatus. Not that he supported such a extreme action despite his affiliation, but it did have its merits, albeit limited ones to his view. A planet under the grip of Chaos he would have no regrets seeing destroyed. A planet which the crime was only being host to a species which was in a worst case scenario debatably human however left him in the grey.

He figured if he didn't have his enhancements and extensive training he would have been reduced to a twitching pile of flesh and nerve under the effects of a heart attack, provided that he survived it, let alone live through each of his encounters. He was not expecting a planet filled with humans with such a low level of technology at their command, and he was not prepared to learn of their unique gifts. His only saving grace that kept him from the grave by the hand of these... 'shinobi' as the locals called them, was years of experience to temper his hand and mind to keep from acting out. After all as the Blood Ravens say, "Knowledge is power, guard it well."

_(Flashback!)_

It was a good week after being sandwiched between the debris and the dirt. He was sore, a tad agitated, and confused as to where he was. Hunger was a quickly solved issue with the spare rations he kept on his person regardless of believing he would die at the hands of his counterpart, augmented by a brief sojourn into a neighboring forest. To calm his nerves as he done for years since he donned the visage of a assassin, he checked the state of his gear.

The Exidus rifle was fine and in working order, his Exitus pistol was nicked but working like a charm. He would have to replace his knife however. His suit had long fixed itself, it had cost him his entire savings at the time to get that techpriest to make a wetsuit with the capabilities of self repairing nano-fibers, but it was worth it; no one likes to repair a suit after every mission after all, and he could stay out in the field longer without worrying about a exposed side if he was given the time to let the suit fix itself. His ribs, though aching, have long since healed under the mandatory body enhancements all assassins. He wasn't sure to count himself lucky for surviving the ordeal, or cursed if it was one of many that awaited him. Either case until he found out which case was true he had no plans on dying just yet, not without a purpose at least.

Until the day where he stood up and been counted or the day he died from old age, which he sincerely doubted, he was going to sit there on a fairly comfortable rock in a secluded spot in the forest that was his current abode and fulfill one of the handful of reasons he was at one time considered a successful Vindicare assassin, he was hand making his own ammo. It always pays to have a collapsible machine kit geared to make bullets. It also paid to keep a hidden pocket full of casings and a like-wise pocket full of gunpowder for this purpose.

The ex-Vindicare was minding his own business of chambering the last few rounds into a Exidus clip when he heard it, a explosion dulled by distance. He didn't look up nor get up as he fit the last bullet into place and slammed the clip into the sniper rifle. He waited. He was rewarded by a trio of explosions, not as pronounced as their predecessor which left two guesses in his mind: either whatever was causing them was on the move or it was a weaker type of blast. A roar of a fourth blast was announced through his hidden abode, this one was easily noisier than the previous explosions, either who or whatever was causing it was either being obnoxious or there was a battle. A moment was spent with the assassin imagining about pistol-whipping whoever was doing this if it was the former.

Seven minutes and thirty-seven seconds later he was perched on a tree branch observing through the scope of his sniper rifle what was previously a lush, evergreen forest now reduced to a smoldering battlefield to what he thought were avatars of chaos with humanoid masters sitting atop their heads. Despite his shock at their sheer size, the shock of seeing inhuman feats of strength and flexibility done by their seemingly human companions, all of which was soon followed by aggravation of not remotely understanding a single word that was being said between the four combatants, more accurately the two giant ones as he could not hear a single word said between the human riders, he could not help but ponder the following. What. The. Frackin'. Hell. Was. Going. On?

Upon further observation he did not detect any sign of corruption between the four beings, that and last he recalled none of the Chaos Gods, both known and unknown, ever favored their servants to have a distinct animal form. Despite the size, he did not think a giant dusty red toad with a sword screamed "threatening!" under anyone's banner... unless it had glowing red eyes and fanged teeth, he can believe it then. The other creature in question was a giant purple snake, one with fairly menacing features he might add but a snake nonetheless.

Atop the toad was a shaggy white-hair man with paint of his face in distinct lines from his eyes to his jaw, covering his person was a green shirt of some kind styled in... what was it? A kimono? No... The ex-Vindicare couldn't place it but kimono kept entering his mind for some reason... He could not place the same colored pants either, but he did spot what appeared to be mesh riding down the white-hair's legs to wooden sandals of all things. To top it off, the was wearing a red vest with yellow circles with black borders. What really confused the ex-Vindicare, aside as to why he was on a giant toad, was why he had a giant scroll on his back. Hidden weapon compartment perhaps?

Atop the snake's head was a pale skinned man with a snake-like face with long black hair. He was garbed in what the ex-Vindicare deemed was a loose over-shirt over a black undershirt with a rather obscenely large purple rope being used as a belt to hold both shirts in place plus his grayish-green pants that kept him decent to the world. The snake-man's legs and feet were tied up with what appeared to be bandages, and on his feet were black open-toed sandals.

Despite being far away the assassin could tell the this was a fight to the death, one didn't live as long as he did without picking up some things like reading one's body language as an example. Whatever started this engagement was something personal as he deduced from his spot, he may not have understood what was being said, but the scowls spoke another story to his scope. And this battle was going to end soon to the white-hair's displeasure. Under a minute of dialogue from the snake-man to his white-haired adversary, he manipulated his hands to strange gestures, the end result was a rapid descent into the ground for both him and the colossal snake. One had to be deaf to _not_ hear the howl of fury from the white-haired man.

Deeming he had enough for one day, the ex-Vindicare hopped, climbed, and even dropped down to the ground below and trudged his way back to his current place of residence, his mind weighing what he just learned and confirmed to a degree. One, he was on another planet altogether. Two, they speak a language he could not understand. Three, there were giant animals, if not indeed chaos constructs of some kind, capable of sentient intelligence and armed with the ability to use weapons, if able, and use abilities that were other worldly if not a tad expected; everyone knows snakes shed skin... Fourth, the local set of human beings, if they were human, were also capable of these feats the animals heavily demonstrated. Breathing fire and stretching ones' neck out to impossible lengths was not something he ever witnessed a chaos warrior/creature doing...

If he planned on living he would have to move carefully indeed...

_(End Flashback!)_

It took awhile but he learned the language, approximately one month since the encountered between the Sannin as he learned they were called. More specifically Jiriaya and Orochimaru of the Sannin. The rest of the second month of his stay on the planet to learn of where he was, to this end he was forced to strip out of his armored suit to ask discreet questions under the guise of a hunter selling pelts. At least he had the gist of things here, those two were 'shinboi,' the local 'assassins' of this planet capable of using a biological force known as chakra that doubled as their life force/energy to enable them abilities that sat close to the fence on _impossible_.

'Assassins,' ha! No real assassin would cause that type of damage he bore witness to just to kill one person, granted they were powerful and stealth tactics were a bit moot... Greenskins were one thing, people passing off as a assassin were a subject onto themselves. He didn't think there was a type of assassin that would replace his general view of the Death-Cult category. Being _chatty_ was still in his pet peeve book however. And entire wars filled with nearly only these 'shinobi?' _That_ was waving a red flag in front of a bull to him. Had he died at the hands of his female counterpart and was sent to some kind of hell as punishment? Tell him he didn't live through that! Unfortunately those were idle thoughts for him that _barely_ helped him cope with his new environment.

Grumbling aside he continued to what would be an obstacle in his path, the current level of technology. So far only movies and the occasional radio was the most advanced thing he found on this planet. In any event, it brought up a question he never thought he would have to answer.

_(Flashback!)_

It was the third month of his stay in what was known as the Elemental Nations and he was confronted with a ethical dilemma. Whatever decision he made would be significant to all avenues of history. He was deciding on whether or not to introduce the use of ranged weaponry to the Nations. Pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, automatic rifles, the works.

On one hand he could still live up to what he had done in the many decades of service, be the ender of lives and the x-factor of entire wars, he could still be an assassin. On the other hand, he could simply hide himself, bury his weapons, live a life of a hermit or even someone who had no need to hide out of fear or worry of being discovered by the Imperium.

No.

He done too many things to sleep in peace. Seen too many faces of ally, enemy, and horror alike to not be haunted by them. At one time he had that chance, he could have stayed as a grunt in the Guard and eventually been discharged either by serving his duty, or by body bag. He lived too long and done too many things that rest was more of a punishment than a reward.

If he was going to live long he was to create a shroud around himself; some means of defense. It didn't bode well for him if people took interest in his unique weaponry. Weaponry this planet had yet invented. He was going to have to be smart about this. Out of all the countries he heard of, there was only one in his immediate area that had the capabilities of making his set of weapons of choice. The Land of Iron, after all, wasn't it a blacksmith who made the first gun? At the very least it sounded sensible.

Was it morally right? No. To be fair he didn't live a morally right life since he became a assassin. The only cold consolation he had to this was that the human race had lived through far worse than the invention of the gun.

_(End Flashback!)_

It didn't take long for people to start clamoring for these 'new' weapon on the market. Countries, villages, the common man, the rich man, they all wanted this 'newfound' power. In this chaos he was hired to defend the very people he gave the schematics and ideas to. The 'shinobi' were tricky, but not impossible. Eldar were far more of a challenge.

When things did finally die down, both figuratively and literally as the death toll was still being counted, laws were in place and enforced by newly armed samurai and militia men, and to a lesser extent 'shinobi.' They were the kind one would find on any planet he went to with a few exceptions here and there which was usually found in more tropical or desert climates, of course there was the exclusion of when Greenskins on the prowl. "No one under this age is permitted ownership of a 'Deathspewer 10 gauge!'" "Only military branches are to have ownership and use of a '10XS 'Skull' Sniper Rifle!'" And there was his favorite law in its absurdity, "Those found guilty of shooting fish in a barrel with a missile based weapon will be fined up to three-hundred thousand yen." He had to wonder what, or rather who, was stupid enough to instigated this law...

XVX

Konoha

The 'shinobi' continued to test his patience, one would think entering a village dedicated to them would be difficult on some level. He literally walked in through the _front door_. Granted he was standing behind a surprisingly tall merchant but one would think... It seems that learning the more intimate workings of the 'shinobi' was going to give him more of a headache than be beneficial to him. He already broken into and out of the one known as Suna with ease.

The only ones to make him work at staying hidden in the village with his 'disguise' if it could be called that, one full body dark cloak wrapped around his shoulders with a hood to hide his already hidden face, were the ones who were wearing animal masks. The numbers were the real problem, some skill, yes, but the numbers were what gave him problems to his secrecy. Only two people worth note ever caught his attention, and like-wise their own, a pair of old men at two separate occasions.

The first one gave off a grandfatherly aura all around the village, especially to a child of five or so years with blond hair that didn't seem to be held in favor by most of the villagers. He worn white robes and an odd hat with a red diamond that held the kanji for "Fire" on it. A man the assassin later learned to be the Hokage, the chief ninja and leader of the village. But when he observed the elderly man he kept giving off mixed messages when he was with the child: regret, duty, and hesitant care, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing. Much like when one stood on the precipice of a decision of good or evil; if a soul sold for power was blissful or condemning.

The second man was what the assassin kept on alert, he reminded him of _some_ of his superiors before he went rogue; men who only aimed more for benefits rather than duty when he made his decisions. The assassin knew that arm was working fine, but what was the purpose of bandaging it up and acting as if it was crippled? His visit to this village may be more interesting than he was expecting. Especially with those masked shinobi that followed him. The ones without details.

XVX

It was the tenth day since he entered the village and the masked shinobi on both sides were looking for him. Apparently he raised red flags in both of the elderly men. This was more informative than it was a nuisance to him. To list the reasons, it offered to him a minute look at the seriousness he often seen lacking in the more common place shinobi seen walking the streets, their training methods, their styles, and even some of the _justu_ used by shinobi when he stepped out of the shadows to both test them and leave them in broken heaps of muscle and bone; pride was the casualty so far. This hunt also showed him that this village was more divided than it seemed, especially between the ones with blank masks, and the ones with animal masks. Their squabbling and puffery enabled him hours of undeterred observation into the aspects he didn't previously know of, such as genjustu, the sense bending abilities. He discovered that through pain or a sudden spike of energy can disrupt the ensnaring effects of this otherwise dangerous ability. Tests on himself, he concluded, left him using the former if he had to escape a genjustu. Apparently chakra was a born ability.

During these periods of peace, his interest finally perked up around the blond haired child. It was a enigma to him, what could this child be associated with that would warrant the hostile, and often cold glares from the older generation? What was so terrible that the other children were even encouraged to avoid and/or harass their blond peer? On more than one occasion he stood in the shadows and watched the child run for his life from drunken mobs, both occasions the majority of the masked shinobi stood by and watched. Only a handful of radicals from the animal side made any effort to helped him, once with a genjustu to make the mob run in the opposite direction of their original course, three times to make arrests on the grounds of 'disturbing the peace,' one instance where a masked shinobi acted as a living shield as the mob caught the boy at that point in time, and he stopped counting the times where the radicals where too late to even act as a shield and had to use force to defend the boy.

Peaked interest indeed.

There was one common factor in all this when it came to the mob, there was always at minum one shinobi near the back, someone who kept taunting and driving the drunken louts forward. Be it one or several, they never behaved as if under the influence. When the masked shinobi interfered, they always discreetly fled the scene while their masked brethren were busied by the sloshed brutes. Give or take, this was organized.

Too bad they weren't even half as good as the masked shinobi...

XVX

The Chunin snickered as he made yet another successful get away from the mob, his only regret was that once again the Anbu got in the way yet again this night. It was always either the dog or the weasel masked one for certain save for the occasional other Anbu interfering in the 'demon' hunt. "Ah well, as long as I don't get into-," the chunin was thinking before a hand grabbed his vest from behind, lifted him up, and slammed him cheek first into a brick wall. He wasn't sure what broke, but he knew the snapping of bone when he did. This was not a happy member of the Anbu... The Chunin snarled as he tasted blood before adopting a playful smile one gets when they get caught in something embarrassing to them, with a voice to match, all the while not looking at his aggressor, "Hey, I don't what the problem is but I'm sure we can-." His voice died when he heard the click of a gun, a gun pressed against his spine. Even with the gun control laws he wasn't surprised by the fact some shinobi and kunoichi were using them these days. And he seen what they can do...

"Buddy?" He asked in a muted, and nervous tone. He didn't want to be Swiss cheese...

"A question if you will," is what the Chunin heard, it was gravely, slightly reverberating, and deep. This Anbu must have been wearing a mask with a distortion seal on it, he deduced. He nodded his consent to the impending question. "Who exactly has been organizing your little... get togethers if you will?"

The Chunin smiled and tried to avoid the question, "Well you see I can't-." Before he knew it, the hand that held him in place grabbed the side of his head, brought him back, and reacquainted him with the wall. The Chunin in a fit of panic tried to look at the guy, but a finger covered the only eye he had available for the job. He was in the dark as to who was doing this. The hand pinning his head to the wall was starting to crush his noggin. And the chunin was starting to get angry, "Hey what his your-!" A gash formed on his cheek after his second reunion with the wall. He could swear the hand was making a indent in his skull now.

"A warehouse! We meet at a warehouse at the south side near the wall! It's building nine!" He exclaimed, he didn't wish to see how far this guy would go if his patience was at the limit. "Typical," was the last thing he heard before his world went dark.

When they found him in the morning, he was slumped against a wall with a broken bottle in his hand and several sets of shoe and foot prints. No one would believe him when he said a Anbu jumped him.

XVX

Warehouse Nine,southern district, two hours and thirty-four minutes later

"This isn't happening!" A kunoichi whimpered to herself, her back against a wall of flame and screams of her comrades who had not the blessing of death before the flames reached them. Sitting right in front of her was a strange device, if her former comrades hadn't had the misfortune of grabbing one of them earlier, she too would have shared their fate before now. This thing was a bomb. Cold sweat drenched her down to the bone from both the fire and the terror sewn by the psycho that panted these things. Who knew a few, seven or eight total, cans of hair spray, duct tape, and a motion sensor can make such a lethal device. Why was this happening?

What had she and her friends done to deserve a fate of either burning alive, being blown to bits, or as the pressure had induced in so many of her allies, mass suicide to avoid either fate? The flames were getting closer. The bombs kept everyone from escaping the torrent of flames. All she ever did was... could it be? Could the demon child do this? No... He was just a kid after all, besides, does he even know how to make a bomb? Someone else was doing this. The door was being eaten by the hungering flames...

XVX

Konoha, fifteen minutes later

He had to restrain himself from guffawing at this irony. Until there was some form of attack, these shinobi were as aware of their surroundings as Imperial Guardsmen were when they weren't expecting an attack. Now their senses were at a razor edge setting, each shadow was an adversary to be watched. No speck was unaccounted for as the surrounding area of the warehouse was investigated in force. Every head snapped into a different direction when a odd sound went off. Shame he was nowhere near the area now.

He turned the scope to observe his handiwork being embattled by with these water justus en masse. He felt no pity for the destroyed lives trapped in that metal and wood shell that was the warehouse. There was a limit to how much bull he can handle in a set period of time. But he couldn't help but be impressed, a _supposed_ demon sealed within a child born on the same day it attacked. Either this 'seal' kept the 'demon' ay bay, or it was a strength of will matter reinforced with ignorance. He got up and walked but a short distance across the roof of his hiding spot to look down at the boy in question, Naruto Uzumaki himself, in an alley, searching a garbage can without heed to his surroundings; there were yet another band of drunk thugs gathering at the mouth of it.

He looked down at the boy with a calculating eye behind the visor. He could leave the child alone, leave him to whatever the winds of fate and destiny had in store for him. Yet the seal, according the notes stolen from Warehouse Nine, mentioned the kid could tap into the Bijuu's power, however it would require either a conscious effort on his part or he had to be in a powerful, if not extreme, state of emotional distress. The notes themselves also begged the question, "Who's deliberately attacking Naruto Uzumaki?"

He may not know much, but he knew that someone was interested in the boy, and most likely been trying to force Naruto to unleash the Bijuu's power on the village through moronic puppets that didn't know they had strings. Then this person can step in and stop the menace and take the fox's power for themselves under the guise of protecting this village. A good plan...

The assassin sighed as he decided the boy's fate himself, and scratched off another thing in his dwindling list of things he never thought he'd do. He leapt off the roof, down to the unsuspecting child below. It was time a real assassin was trained.

**A/N: Granted this seems a lot sooner than most posts... But I don't have anything better to do...**

**If you think I need to rework this, let me know! But please be civil.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**To Trooper0007: Once again you will have to wait and see.**

**To ArcherReborn2: Thank you for the review, the most I can promise is going back to make some tweaks in areas I believe needs them (such as the actual name of the side arm a assassin carries), but to be honest with you I'm going to make the story my way. No offense. And I would like to remind you he isn't your typical assassin as the first chapter and second chapter has briefly indicated. How many Vindicare Assassins go rogue and not join Chaos? And lastly I done a comparison, I did not indicate, or at least mean to, the assassin's superiors were in it for themselves. Once again, I apologize. Pride of being a writer for my own story and all that. For what it's worth I am actually interested in seeing more of your reviews that could potentially make me improve my work.**

**To clear the air that I essentially fouled without meaning to, most of my knowledge is based on the games in regards of Warhammer 40k and the deductions I made from there. My work on the Naruto portion comes from watching the anime and from other fan fictions I believe can to a degree accurately represent the characters in certain scenarios. If you do not like this style, then please do not send me hate mail outside the boundaries ArcherReborn2 was more or less made. Likewise, if you do not like this story, then please stop reading.**

Assassin

Chapter 3: Dues ex Machina...?

Hokage's office

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not sure if this was a curse or a blessing in disguise. On one hand a previously unknown cell dedicated to the torment if not death of Naruto Uzumaki had been decimated, and there was no evidence linking him to the rather... dreadful incident that brought about the cell's demise. Not that the villagers would believe it anyway. Not that they could find the boy regardless of belief to begin with either. There in lay the problem, the other hand. Ultimately there was nothing to suggest the arson and murder of Konoha's property and personal, despite recent light of the history of the victims, to the abduction to seven year old Naruto Uzumaki. The only witnesses to the latter were dead, figuratively, drunks at the scene. They were in the dark as to who took the boy.

If he was even half right then these two events are connected, then they were connected to that man the Anbu couldn't track _within their own village_ of all places. But what could he gain from all this? Was the unknown man a relative of Naruto that Kushina or Minato failed mentioned to him? Doubtful but the possibility was there.

The aged kage groaned and rubs his temples profusely. He was getting too old for this. He had to stifle a very audible groan when he heard the door slammed open. He didn't even have to look to see who entered, the old war hawk was probably one of the few people that could announce their presence with but a well placed step. Hiruzen had enough of a headache from the supposedly separate problems for the arson/murder and Naruto's disappearance. The silver lining of this cloudy day was that Danzo didn't have the container of the fox bijuu. It was made obvious by his presence here.

Danzo Shimura may be one of the toughest people to read in the known world, but didn't mean he didn't have indicators to his mood. What he didn't show in body language or his one visible eye he made up for in certain actions. If he had Naruto, he wouldn't be here, he would be where ever he kept the child to condition him to be the perfect weapon. As if the elderly Sarutobi would permit that to happen if he could. He still had some fight in his aging body.

Danzo seemed to be impassive as he shuffled his way to a chair. But if anyone knew Danzo, like Hiruzen did, he knew he was infuriated by these turn in events that have the Hokage nursing his aching head. Once he settled himself down and took a deep breath did he finally speak. "So it would seem we have a danger in our mist."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes but a fraction, did Danzo have the same theory that the mystery man was involved? Wait, how did he- then again it was Danzo, few things happened in Konoha without him hearing about it. "Yes, it would be prudent to say so despite the lack of knowledge we have about this," Hiruzen replied carefully. Either Danzo was trying to get information out of him, or he came to strike a deal with the kage. Hiruzen wouldn't put it past Danzo to do both.

"It's strange how several shinobi and kunoichi die in one night in a fire. One would think there would be a suspect by now." Truth of the matter it was seven days since the warehouse was destroyed, a full week since Naruto vanished. A fact neither took to in a good light. "There are several, each victim was a shinobi in their own right, and all shinobi make enemies," was Hiruzen's reply.

Danzo merely hummed in agreement before he spoke up, "True, but there are not a great number of people capable of being in two places at once, nor have the knowledge to make an IED." So Danzo did have the theory as well. Hiruzen leaned onto his desk , rests himself on top of it by his elbows, steeple his fingers in front of him and stared down at his elderly adversary. Danzo stared back.

XVX

Konoha

Yugao Uzuki could not believe this. Today marked the fifteenth day of Naruto's lack of presence and the villagers were _finally_ taking notice, but that was not the thorn in her side, it was the suspect behind this that was believed to have done this. She met the cloaked man. She was also trounced by said man. What spurned her was the fact that this man only revealed himself _when_ he wanted to be found which was weeks ago. There may not be evidence but she knew this man was behind it. Not many could defeat, let alone elude, the Anbu without a scratch in their own village.

She like many wondered what interest the cloaked man had in Naruto. She didn't want to face Kushina in the afterlife as a failure to her...

XVX

Kakashi Hataki kept scratching his head about this, how good can one person be against an entire village? It was day twent-eight, just a few days short of a complete month, since Naruto disappeared. There was no corpse, no ransom note, no attempt at escape, it was as the Nara tend to say "_troublesome._" Was this a game to the kidnapper?

XVX

It was three months since Naruto disappeared, two long agonizing months for anyone who cared about Naruto to some degree that finally realized that something had happened. Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku still kept a seat open for the boy, but it was gathering a fine layer of dust at this point. Jiriaya had finally deigned to make an appereance and had the gall to be outraged at the disappearance of the blond ball of energy, it was even more insulting when he found neither hide nor hair of either Naruto or the mystery man. Kakashi could barely stand two minutes of his literature without putting it down, hunching over, and rubbing his hands through his hair with a frustrated sigh. This was naming a few of those affected.

Much to the surprise and near heart attack of the Hokage, there was finally word from Naruto... in his office of all places. "I'll meet you where the honored dead are named." That was the message on the note on his desk. The aged man was sorely tempted to bolt from his office to the memorial stone, yet his instincts as a shinobi kicked in. There was a reason Naruto's kidnapper left a message written in Naruto's own handwriting here. Add to that he effectively slipped in undetected... he decided to go to meeting place alone. He seriously doubted that bringing a squad of Anbu with him will lead to the best of scenarios.

XVX

Memorial stone, Konoha

The Hokage took one weary and worn step after another as he approached the monument of the ninja that had fallen under Konoha's service, and to the one person standing in front of it. He would've smiled as he recognized Naruto if it wasn't for the radical changes of his person. Gone was the orange vest with the blue undershirt. The Orange pants and the blue sandals were missing.

In their place was a plain black short sleeved shirt that looked a bit too large for him. He was wearing brown pants and sandals with black socks. Tied to his head to conceal is bright hair was a black bandanna. The new clothing was not what bothered the elder. It was the look of his face. It wasn't the energetic, yet forced smile he often seen him in. It wasn't one of forlorn acceptance on gets when confronted with a unshakable truth. It was like he wasn't even seeing the stone itself, but something else that promoted thought. What was it?

Upon further inspection he noticed that Naruto looked a bit leaner, and taller. There was even a buildup of some muscle, though not by much.

If Naruto knew the Hokage was there, he made no effort to acknowledge him as he approached. The Hokage waited for Naruto to make the first move, any move, but the boy kept staring off into space in front of the stone.

Two minutes... three minutes... four minutes of waiting and not a single gesture, he didn't even blink. Hiruzen picked up a smile and opened his mouth to say something. Naruto beat him to it. "It would be the eight anniversary of the attack on the village soon. Strange how it coincides with my birthday," was what Naruto said in a even tone. One that didn't betray emotion.

A pit was forming in the aged man's stomach. He was hoping against hope this was not what he thought it was. "It's good to see you're in good health Naruto, but what happened to you? All we know was you disappeared two months ago," Hiruzen said, hopefully he could open Naruto up, and avoid the growing ominous feeling in his gut.

"October tenth, eleven days from now people from all avenues of life in Konoha would be storming the streets in cheerful mirth. They would enjoy the food stalls, watch the fireworks, and enjoy drink after drink of the alcoholic kind," at this Naruto smirked and scoffed as if it was a ridiculous idea. "We both know that day was worse for me than any other day."

Hiruzen frowned but didn't disagree. He made no effort to stop Naruto, he knew it would be an exercise of futility. It's sad to see someone who had their childhood taken away. Almost like a seeing into the future, he saw the next thing coming to him. "Why have you never told me?"

The Hokage took off his hat and hand through the wisps of his receding hair from the natural functions of the body combined with years of the nerve wracking work. He let out a long winded sigh, his shoulders stooped a little, and he looked at Naruto in defeat. He spoke to the boy solemnly and wearily, "I was hoping that the longer you were in the dark, the more likely it would get people to believe that you weren't possessed by the nine-tailed fox. If you weren't knowledgeable of this fact, it could create enough reasonable doubt by the way you acted. Who can properly blame someone over something when the accused wasn't even aware of it?"

Naruto didn't look at him as his eyes narrowed, and a bit of heat escape him, "I think we can name quite a few." Even Sarutobi winced at that. He look at the stone, his face resigned of any expression. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"So what would happen now?"

Naruto was as expressionless as ever as he continued to stare off towards the memorial stone. He too took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "I can tell you one thing for certain, I won't be aiming to be Hokage." Inwardly Hiruzen felt himself breaking a little, it was disheartening to hear but not unexpected.

"Then what will you do, if I may ask?" asked Hiruzen, if anything he asked it for some kind of solace. What he didn't expect however was a ghost of a smile lifting the edges of Naruto's lips when he heard a reply, a reply with a small echo of the blond before he vanished, "To protect those who matter to me."

Though shocked, Hiruzen Sarutobi inwardly smiled, perhaps there was some hope after all.

XVX

Time skip: six years later, Konoha Shinobi Academy, Iruka's class

Iruka Umino stood in front of the class of freshly minted genin with a clipboard in hand listing the names of the genin as well as the team number. He just finished the listing for team six. When he saw Naruto's name he had to fight the urge to flinch as the memories of the night before replayed in his head. The kid may not be as well known as Sasuke Uchiha, and even described as a warmer version of the boy, but that didn't mean he wasn't him a force to be reckoned with. He was just so quit at times that one had to visually spot him to be reminded of his presence. A trait that he had come to learn to fear of in an opponent. It only had to take the end of Mizuki's life for him to learn of that.

_(Flashback!)_

It was the night after the graduation exam and Mizuki was not a happy camper. Every plot he had, every move he made, every hope he cherished, and even now his plans were being subjected to being ruined. He done everything in his power without making to brazen a move to, like many, torment and get the blond fox container expelled. He learned fast this kid was not as stupid, nor ignorant as the village had come to believe.

Every test rigged with a genjustu was bypassed by one method or another such as breaking the illusion or being despicable enough to swapping another's paper. There was an uproar when he learned that the Nara boy's paper was switched with Naruto's booby trapped paper. He never thought he'd fear a civilian woman in his entire life when he realized he couldn't indicate that piece of paper was not meant for the Nara...

Every spar outside had landed him in the hospital with some kind of fracture. He could swear the kid was holding back on him. He heard of the rumors that someone outside of the academy was training the 'demon' child but he didn't think they were real till then.

Even at the accuracy training involving the range dummies , Mizuki's tactics were being rendered useless... stupid loopholes that allowed guns... That and he was watched like a hawk by the brat in the other portions of the target practice. If the written tests and the spars were any indicator, he regretfully backed away from the mandatory use of kunai and shuriken.

The closest thing to success was the first portion of the ninjustu courses. Right up until Mizuki failed to repress a snicker while holding up a book in front of him to conceal a one handed hand seal to channel a chakra disrupting justu, things were going rather well. He could only accuse Naruto in sabotaging the books with low grade explosives about that since no one could find evidence to him doing such a thing.

Ultimately the conclusion Mizuki's spiteful hopes was the failure in holding back Naruto from graduating. And the deadline to his long term mission was fast approaching. If he couldn't trick the demon brat, at least there was a sizable amount of failed genin hopefuls he could 'talk to.'

Now he was staring at the thorn in his side and the goody-two-shoes with the pony tail. The brat Mizuki duped was nowhere to be found and the Forbidden Scroll was behind the demon child. With the Anbu undoubtedly closing in, his window of opportunity was shrinking by the second.

He smirked as he played his one trump card to buy him the shot he wanted for years now. "Hey Naruto, have you ever wondered why you're hated in this village?" Iruka tensed, Mizuki wouldn't... Said man grinned devilishly as he took the bandana covered blonds' silence as an admission of curiosity. "As you know, thirteen years ago the Nine-Tailed Fox had stormed Konoha. In his fury he had slained hundreds of our number out without repent. Even the Fourth Hokage couldn't kill the beast , but he could stop it. He took the beast out by placing him into a seal put onto a newborn baby at the cost of his life." Mizuki's grin turned into a more demonic smile and he began to shout with enthusiasm, "And that baby was you! You are the Fox reborn!" He pointed a accusatory finger at him as he clenched his teeth in his twisted smile.

The reaction was not what he aimed for. If anything, he annoyed Naruto more than shocked if the heavy sigh and the lazy narrowing of his eyes to slits were anything to go by. Like a subject rehearsed more than once and the announcer of it was losing interest in it, Naruto spoke, "There are several flaws to both your logic and your strategy here. However I'm going to point out the one that is most important to all this." Mizuki took the moment to swing his enlarged shuriken at break neck speeds at the boy. Iruka leaped at Naruto to protect him, yet was unexpectedly shunted aside by the throw of an arm.

The star of death was true to mark, yet it did not spill blood. Naruto "popped" out of existence. Mizuki stared dumbfounded and confused. It was a clone? Any thoughts were cast down before he knew it. He may not be the brightest person in the world but even he knew a knife to the back to where the heart is located is lethal... was lethal in his case, there was no mistaking cold metal digging into the muscle and bone protecting the vital muscle. The already darkened world was growing dimmer rapidly. His last conscious act in the world of the living was listening to one final sentence spoken above a whisper reminiscent to a ghost to a living man, "You left yourself unguarded."

Iruka gawked at the corpse that was Mizuki when he heard a heavy thud of a body on dirt. He looked up at Naruto to shout something, anything, just something to expel the horror of killing someone in cold blood when they could've taken him alive. Any outrage or argument died in his throat when he realized the bandana covered blonds' attire changed from the garb he seen the clone wear till its own 'death.' All that remained was the bandana that hide his hair.

Naruto was wearing a full body, minus head, thick leather suit with a pair of the maroon strips running along the front from his thighs to the top of his stomach where the lines continue, or at least Iruka believe they did, under a darkened metal breastplate of some kind only to reappear at his shoulders, joined by another line, only to hide again as they went under a gauntlet. The suit itself was two different shades of grey: on the portions of the body facing the world (i.e. the arms, outer thighs, ribs, etc) it was a dark, near black, shade of grey. The shade on the opposing side of the maroon border, was two tones lighter than the dark grey. It was bright enough to be noticed but not eye catching.

Adorning his chest was a breastplate made out of darkened metal of some kind that went from his ribs to a few centimeters short of his neck and arms to allow unhindered movement of these areas. On his arms and legs were gauntlets and grieves respectively made out of the same material the breastplate. Each of the protective pieces of gear went from two to their respective joint such as the knee or elbow. The grieves however went a little higher by climbing up the dark half of the suit. There was a belt of some kind made out of the material that made up his armor, but it wasn't closed let alone connecting. Last to finish of his new look were the Konoha headband, in the same shade of light grey of the suit, tied around his neck with the plate, though darkened to the same color as his armor, was visible for all to see and a mask-like pair of goggles of some kind that reached and even covered his ears was strapped onto his forehead that was colored in the dark shade of the suit.

Iruka went from gawking at Mizuki's corpse to gawking at Naruto as he nonchalantly cleaned the knife that ended the former's life with a rag. Now that Iruka noticed it, it was a combat knife, a weapon ninja didn't typically used for lack of utility but it did have its points. Iruka was going to say something, yet that to was a failed attempt when Anbu appeared to collect both body and scroll. In the mild confusion of it all, Naruto slipped away into the night.

_(End Flashback!)_

Iruka shuddered. Naruto had shown no sign of being affected by last night since he walked into the classroom for team assignments in his new attire. He masterfully ignored everyone giving him odd looks since taking up his usual seat near the back as he took out a fairly large looking pistol of a unknown model and began to disassemble it with practiced ease. A habit Iruka noticed Naruto do when the boy was bored; if it wasn't a gun of some kind he was inspecting a knife, and in one case a short sword, and cleaning said weapon. If there wasn't anything he thought could use some kind of maintenance then he would be reading something. The subject always varied from history to justu scrolls, and rarely seen since the first time someone caught him in the act, manga books.

"Well people can't be serious all the time," thought Iruka with a sense of reprive. At least Naruto shown _some_ interest in things unrelated to combat. He couldn't help but cast a glance at Sasuke glaring at the armed and armored blond. It did not take long for him to fight off a groan instead of a flinch. No one really understood the boy's seemingly unreasonable hostility to the blond. He may be the genin of the year, albeit by a slight margin in terms of chakra control, but the slightest upset from Naruto in any fashion, in this case literally, could get him to snarl at someone.

Iruka shook his head to clear himself of idle commentary and looked back to the clipboard. He had to fight off another groan as he seen Sakura Haruno's name on the same team as Naruto. Book smart, but somewhat useless as a kunoichi from lack of serious training. If he knew Naruto as well as he did despite the Mizuki incident, then was going to grind his gears when he found out. Hopefully the next person... fate has a odd, if not wicked, sense of humor. Sasuke Uchiha, third member of the team.

He could only hope whoever the sensei of their team was adequate or adaptable enough to keep the powder keg from exploding. One team member lacking in skills was enough, but a team member who goes against one's ideals both in arrogance _and_ out of spite was severely pushing it. As a number of people who knew Naruto know that he had a certain view of what shinobi should be; Sasuke went out of his way to either confront or mock it. The two were banned from sparring against one another after the second trip to the hospital as a testament to how well they got along...

As for Sakura, Iruka could only hope she didn't add fuel to the fire. With her however was a chance for improvement if she didn't favor Sasuke at every turn for reasons also unknown.

Iruka hoped, no prayed, no, he _begged_ every deity he could think of for a sensei who can keep the soon-to-be Team Seven from becoming a one-man cell. He glanced the name of Team Seven's sensei.

He blinked and read it again.

He rubbed his eyes and had a good long read of the name of this man and heard music song by a chorus of devout church goers. _HALLEJUYA!_

The look on his face was that of a man who just discovered gold in his backyard! Nay! The fountain of youth! Not good enough! The secret of the universe! _YES!_ There won't be two murders Naruto will most likely walk scot free from! The one person who knew Naruto enough to keep him at bay, keep Sakura from adding fuel to the fire, and get Sasuke to shut up! Today was so great it must be named as a holiday as the greatest day in all the Elemental Nations!

During this epiphany, Iruka did not take note of the unsettled looks from his former students, including the secluded duo. What was going on? Did they even want to know? They all started to profusely sweat bullets when their former teacher cackled madly with tears streaming, no, flowing out of his eyes in rivers! He even threw out his hand in a thumbs up pose while doing so!

XVX

Elsewhere in training ground nine

Might Guy was paralyzed as was his miniature double by a unseen force that coursed through their beings! Neji Hyuga and Tenten Bell could only stand by aghast by their shuddering eccentric teach and team mate. Rock Lee fell over unconscious from the excessive rush. Might Guy could barely stand as the energy passed through him, yet he still had the energy to shoot up his thumb and take a very deep breath...

XVX

Training ground ten, a fourth of a mile away

Kakashi Hatake was disappointed he didn't get to be the Jonin sensei of Team Seven, yet at the same time he was relieved. He had extra time in the world to be with his one true companion in the world: Icha-Icha! He just opened the book when a hurricane force he knew all too well assault his eardrums. The worst part was... it sounded like Might guy was yelling through a megaphone right into his ear.

"Yooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuth!"

The wind accelerated to a fierce gale of a storm as Guy's voice continue to howl the elongated word he is associated with. At first Kakashi paid no head of it until his hand instinctively clung onto the branch of the tree he perched himself on. His lone eye widened as he realized what he just ignored.

Clutching onto the book in a death grip, he planted both feet onto the branch and pumped chakra to keep himself onto it as the hand on the branch dug into the bark. The wind roared, the trees groaned, and Kakashi was clinging onto both book and branch for dear life. Debris from the forest floor flung past him amongst other things: rocks, leaves, smaller branches, squirrels! Nothing was safe from the hurricane Guy is creating! All Kakashi could do was hang onto the branch for all the good it would do, but it was getting harder for his lone hand and feet to do.

Fighting against the wind, Kakashi brought his beloved book to his chest hoping he could slip it though the vest he wore. It was not to be. The wind ripped his precious book away from his clutches, much to his horror, and carried it away to never be seen again.

When the wind did die down, and Guy's accursed voice was no longer carried upon it, Kakashi could do the one thing he could do in this situation. He wept tears of blood and cried out to the heavens, "That was a signed copyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

XVX

Opposite side of training ground ten in the forest

Anko Mitarashi stared at the man intensely, but she knew that he knew she was afraid of him under the confident facade. She did what no one, not even the Anbu , could do. She managed to rip off his cloak to reveal the body suit of the mystery man wanted for questioning of so many things: arson, sabotage, kidnapping, and murder of Konoha shinobi, and recently the murder of a 'citizen' of dubious quality. She could feel the intensity of cold war hardened eyes seizing up her wounded body under that glass visor that was a part of his helmet.

She wasn't this scared since... she mentally slapped herself, she did not want to compare this guy to her former sensei. If anything, he was like a serious, less sinister version of the dastardly snake that ruined her. But what baffled her was his... for lack of a better word, unwillingness to end her life. He was content with beating her in non-vital areas coupled with the occasional slash of a knife. What was going on through his head? Wait, could it be that-.

_WHAP!_

Something collided so hard with the back of her skull that she saw stars before darkness.

The ex-Vindicare could only _blink_ at the sheer oddity before him. Out of nowhere, a book, a little orange book, had just knocked out the snake woman. He blinked again, crouched low, picked up a long stick, and poked the woman to make sure she was indeed knocked out. His only response was a groan. Well... that saves him the trouble of the entire situation at hand.

He donned the cloak back onto his person and walked away. He stopped a few feet away and winced a little in pity at the humiliation of the whole thing on Anko's part. Only one thought came to mind as he walked away, "This village is weird..."

XVX

Back at the classroom

Iruka had _finally_ calmed down and grin a sickly sweet, for the students, grin as he _glowed_ with sheer joy of the situation. "Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha!" announced a overly zealous Iruka. He would have heard a throaty growl coming from Naruto if two things weren't preventing that, Iruka's reaction earlier and a strong sense uneasiness in his gut as per the result of Iruka's lapse of sanity. Didn't stop the Uchiha though.

"Your sensei," Iruka continued with glee, all too sickening glee... "Is Itachi Uchiha!"

**A/N: Surprise! And to those who figured it out on the first go I congratulate you. To those who don't but have a great suspicion as to the origin of the armor, yes, I gave Naruto Spectre armor from Starcraft 2. My reasoning was this: originally I was going to give him armor, slightly modified though, that was near identical to the Assassin's own armor. I later came to think of it as cliché and unoriginal. This put me in a position to make me think, a design that could work for Naruto and even give off a semblance of his transformation under the Assassin while plausibly not too advanced for Naruto's world if done right. Hence the Spectre suit without the wires and tubing. To be honest I was gunning for Kerrigan's (pre-zerg) look on a male body when I remembered Tosh, the leader of the Spectres. The goggles however are from Kerrigan's design. Why no helmet? I couldn't make it work in my mind.**

**If you're confused as to why Naruto stayed? Think about what he said.**

**To those who think I was/am over powering Naruto, my defense is he is indeed being trained by the Assassin who has years of experience, there is bound to be some crossover in terms of skill, power, and tactics if given enough time.**

**To anyone who think I'm making the Assassin too soft, my only defense that Naruto does rub off on people, though not to the extent he usually is portrayed as for the purposes in this story.**

**"Why Itachi? What happened to the massacre?" Don't worry, there are dead people. But let me get to that at my own pace if you will be so kind.**

**To disregard during and after chapter four:**** And to you readers who were kind enough to either favorite, follow, or at least fervently travel to this story, I would like to warn you I will upgrade this story to the Mature section for safety reasons by the next chapter posting. I sincerely doubt my ability to keep this story in the Teen range. Why not now? Because I can! That and hopefully more people would read this story before then.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between. And in this case I would like to say the same in regards to Starcraft in general, a Blizzard Company game.**

**To E E Merica: Technically did you not just give me a review?**

**Couldn't resist, easy target right there in my view. Hit me with your best shot! (Hides behind a steel wall) Go on! I say!**

Assassin

Chapter 4: New sensei, new team, new threat?

Konoha Shinobi academy, an hour after the announcements

Iruka leaned back into his chair and let loose a weary sigh. Save for the rookie Jonin, Kurenai Yuhi, standing out of the door giving her students instructions onto where to meet her at a later time on the grounds that she had to meet the Hokage, the classroom was as silent as it was empty. Part of Iruka felt like he was drowning with his limbs as useful as lead weights when this happened. It was just eerie to see a empty classroom without expectation of a familiar set of faces to outright destroy the peace and quiet. Yes there was a new class to be held with him once again as the teacher but these periods were always disconcerting; this is the only real downside to the job for a real teacher. His gaze wandered up to where Naruto Uzumaki usually used as his seat should there be nothing preventing its use...

Kurenai bid her students farewell and turned to bid Iruka farewell when she noticed the solemn look on his face. She gazed up to where she assumed he was staring up, a empty desk along the top tier. She frowned in confusion and turned to Iruka. "A penny for your thoughts Mr. Umino?" She asked him softly as to not upset him greatly. Iruka shot up straight in his seat and looked at Kurenai's direction before settling on the new jonin herself in startled confusion. "What?" He asked, making it obvious he wasn't entirely thinking straight.

Kurenai offered a placating smile as she gave voice to her opinion, "I was just wondering what you were thinking of Mr. Umino."

Iruka smiled a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his head in the same fashion. "Ah, sorry. I was just..." He became more grave as he looked up at his former student's seat. "How much do you know of the incident last night?"

Kurenai tilted her head in confusion and looked back to where Iruka was staring at. It took a moment but she connected the dots. "You're wondering what was going through his head when Mizuki died, aren't you?" She deduced, if not asked. Iruka let silence be his answer to her own question.

Kurenai took and exhaled a small breath, went to a wall, leaned on it, and took what she believed to be the path to quell the teacher's thoughts on the matter. "I will admit that at most I know him as a acquaintance introduced to me by Anko. All I know of him is that he is a quiet young man with a certain look in his eye that doesn't belong to someone his age..." Iruka winced a little. It was a unsaid subject amongst the academy staff if they noticed his eyes. Though the students never quite understood it thanks to their naivety, the teachers who been to battle long enough knew that look in his eyes. It was staring into the eyes of a trained guard dog; serious, loyal to anyone he trusts, and didn't mess around... at least while on duty if the manga books were any indication. Kurenai continued without head of Iruka's momentary distress. "The best I can do is say what I believe Anko would say about this, 'he sought an end to a problem.'"

Iruka just stared at her. "But..." Was all he could get out when Kurenai raised a hand to stop him. She closed her eyes as if to remember something and crossed her arms under her bosom. "I don't know the details of how they met or how they became good friends," She said. "But every now and then she would give me details about Mr. Uzumaki . 'He takes his weird training seriously,' 'he could sneak up on her in his sleep,' 'he could snipe the wings off a fly with a spit shooter,' 'he could give Might Guy and his student a small run for their money if he could stand against their... 'unique nature.'" She smirked, she met at least Guy, not his student however...

"Weird training?" Iruka asked. Granted he knew Naruto didn't train solely at the academy...

Kurenai cocked an eyebrow, even opened an eye to look at him before returning to their closed and cool features. "As I understand it, Mr. Uzumaki relies more on physical training rather than other types such as ninjustu heavy training. Weights, jogging, stealth, even weapon use. I admit, it seems odd that he never trained much in the use of justus but I suppose there is a reason he focuses more on training that affects the body more than his chakra..." She frowned a little. She didn't object to his methods but he is a shinobi... it was just odd to hear a shinobi that didn't use any form of justus when they were perfectly able to, just unwilling to.

Iruka frowned as well but nodded, not that Kurenai could see that and waited for her to continue. She didn't disappoint.

"If I can accurately guess, he probably thought Mizuki would be more of a problem alive rather than as a cadaver. Let's consider the facts: he tricked a genin-hopeful into helping him by telling him stealing the Forbidden Scroll was a secret test to pass genin who didn't graduate by normal means. When confronted by you and Naruto, he chose to attack rather than surrender. He deliberately broke a S-Rank law that would have deemed him fit for termination regardless of being slain or not. From what the Yamanaka could uncovered from his deceased mind, he was planning on killing the genin if he didn't convince the child to join him once the Scroll was in his possession. Then there is the tattoo indicating he has, or rather had, a strong connection with Orochimaru..."

She didn't continue, she didn't have to in that subject. She only had to finish it. "Considering Naruto's aliment in terms of personality, he deemed Mizuki a threat that would cause a problem later on if given the chance. He deliberately broke and was planning to break several laws for his own benefit."

Iruka hung his head in shame and released a weary sigh. "Is it wrong to wish for people to live?" He asked solemnly. The young Jonin could only offer a sympathetic smile. "No... But we don't live in a perfect world."

XVX

Ichiraku Ramen, Konoha

After a brief introduction to their sensei, and a discussion to where and when to meet due to a prior engagement he had to uphold, Team Seven departed to indulge their own interests. In Naruto's case it was not a huge surprise in where he was found a good twenty minutes later...

Naruto sedately ate his seventh bowl of miso ramen while listening to a fairly chatty, though not overly so, Hinata Hyuga. An admitted oddity should one consider her past where she, to a degree, stalked him wherever he went. Or rather tried to when it came to the outside the academy walls.

It took time and effort over the years before she was comfortable enough around him to not feint in his mere presence. It was during this time he managed to talk to her, ultimately present her with a bit of a cold hard fact aimed to protect her from danger one way or another.

_(Flashback!)_

Two years ago

Hinata was pressing her fingers against each other nervously as she tried to look Naruto in the eye. She wasn't sure which she felt more, shy or giddy, for Naruto had asked to speak with her! They were near the woods at the academy and said building was in plain view, nothing to hinder her ability to run should she choose to.

Naruto was observing her in a distant fashion with his arms crossed. He was eying her, obviously trying to find the proper wording to whatever it is he wanted to talk about, but Hinata didn't care. Her imagination was starting to soar into wild fantasy regarding what the bandana covered blond wanted to speak about. Could he be asking her out? Asking for her to be his girlfriend? An offer of marriage?! She blushed heavily as she heard wedding bells ringing in her head...

The blush finally forced Naruto's hand and he sighed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her in the eye... until she looked away with a heavier blush.

"Allow me to ask you at least one question," Naruto said seriously to her. Hinata looked up with him in curiosity with her blush still heating her cheeks. "Yes or no, do you like me?" Hinata squeaked and looked away. She glanced at him, taking note that he never once looked away from her with those serious eyes of his. She always found them odd but nothing else. Fighting her blush, she looked him in the eye back and spoke up at long last, "Y-y-yes..."

"Would you say that the only reason you're trying to be a kunoichi now is to somehow garner my attention and affection?" Asked Naruto. Hinata only nod sheepishly, the index fingers of both hands pressed together with enough force to crush a rock.

Naruto exhaled a heavy sigh. "Iruka sensei will probably tell the class someday, or they will learn it themselves individually. Shinobi are assassins, we don't fight for affection or recognition, we fight because we have to. Granted there are branches that avoid fighting, but at the core we kill people." Hinata paled and the blush easily disappeared. "And to add to that, I am not looking for a love interest any time soon. Maybe someday when I'm older, but not now."

The shy girl started to feel numb. He wasn't interested enough in her? Better yet, did he view her as weak?

Naruto looked up towards the reddening sky of the day's evening. "Whether you stay or go, you'll do more harm than good to everyone including yourself if you don't even train to be at least competent. If you die on the battlefield, that is it."

He turned around and walked away without taking away his gaze from the sky. "Whoever is waiting for you to come back will be... crushed to know otherwise."

Hinata perked up at that... could it be that... he wasn't sure he could handle the pain? Her blush was returning to her. Could it be he was tearing her down to protect her?

_(End Flashback!)_

Much to Naruto's amazement, Hinita stayed despite his confrontation with her. She sought to improve herself in every field of study made available to her that suited her more flexible style compared to most Hyuga styles. It was further enhanced when Naruto took the time to spar with her with his own style. His only regret being that she was no longer quiet and insisted on sharing her day with him when they casually got together... occasional chatter of this category was one thing, constant was another. At least she wasn't-.

"Narutooooo!"

The boy by that name choked on his ramen. "Oh dear god no!" He mentally screamed! His current stalker! The fanatic of weaponry! He must have at least twelve seconds to make a escape and disappear into the crowds nearby!

Too late! Before he could drop the chopsticks, two slender pair of arms wrapped around him and crushed him in a hug. He could no longer make a feasible escape now that he was in _her_ clutches! The only other person who had a measure of success in tracking him outside of Hinata! Well there was Itachi too but he didn't stalk him...

The collector of weapons has him in her grasp! The mistress of maces! The geisha of guns! The dealer of pointy death! _Tenten Bell!_ He could only mentally weep. Ever since she learned he specialized in ranged weaponry, and especially since her father's shop in the past year started to sport the ranged life enders, she has not left him alone till either she was satisfied or he managed to lose her... sans missions and, until recently, academy classes of course. It was not remotely easy.

"Hi, how're you lovable blond haired gunman!" She exclaimed in a school girl-like fashion around their favorite teacher. Not one to be rude, Naruto deigned to smile, hesitantly, and reply, reluctantly... it was the only way out now. "I'm fine, how're you Tenten? A new load of arms came in I take it?" Off to the side Hinata was smoothly glaring at the fairly well known weapons mistress amongst the Genin.

"You could say that, I just got back from a mission and a small training spar to find we now have the AGR-14 rifles in stock. I was hoping-" Naruto interrupted her without shame, "Isn't it against the law to look into transactions made in any store, let alone weapon stores?" It had to work! He didn't mind her but the weapon lectures... The weapon lectures! "Only if you're not an employee or if it was willingly presented to a third party if not ordered by a judicial court," Tenten replied with a experienced smile. What did the world have against Naruto when people became wise to his last ditch efforts?

He placed the money he owed on the counter of the ramen stand in defeat. He bid farewell to Hinata and left with Tenten practically joined at the hip. Hinata only watched from her seat with an aching heart. The only consolation she had in all this was the fact Naruto wasn't interested in any form of romantic relationship. But one can dream, and can hope...

XVX

Meanwhile at a meeting room in the Hokage tower, Konoha

Every Jonin, special and full-fledged, and Anbu of Konoha stood at attention save for three in the back for different reasons. Might Guy had to be propped up against a wall to even stand, Kakashi Hatake was curled into a lifeless ball in a corner trying to keep himself from crying, and Anko Mitarashi was sitting in a chair nursing a angry purple book shaped cruise at the back of her head with an ice pack. These hiccups in their usual sternness at these emergencies however were not paid heed to as the Hokage stood at the podium facing the alert Jonin.

"Just a few hours ago we have learned that Danzo Shimura has been found slain," Hiruzen said with duly noticed graveness. He turned to the wall to his left when a projector slide out from the ceiling and sparked into life, immediately bathing the wall in bright light as the lights dimmed. The Jonin, those that could anyway, turned to the glistening wall to be assaulted by a photo of Danzo's headless body laying on the cold stone floor at a unknown location. Upon further inspection he sported several slash wounds to the chest with the occasional stab wound, a missing arm, and several defensive wounds on the remaining arm.

"We know not who had done it nor the exact reasons but we have our theories. Evidence uncovered show he was in league and even in contact with Orochimaru... but we're uncertain he if he had a hand in Danzo's demise," the elder Sarutobi said. "May I ask why you are uncertain in your theory?" A calm voice asked. All available eyes turned to the most prominent Uchiha at the meeting, Itachi Uchiha. The elder grimaced and drew in a breath.

"Because of his infatuation with the bloodlines of Konoha, he would not risk an opportunity to certain failure if he thinks he can take some form of advantage in it with his expertise." Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Please explain," he asked in the same calm as before.

The scene changed from a corpse to a ruined set of buildings, one bearing the known family crest of the Uchiha. "Through documents uncovered from Danzo's estate we have found evidence he plotted the demise of the Uchiha clan with a shinobi he did not name. Probably to keep this person out of our reach while under his thumbs. As we all know only thrity-seven people were reported slain in this incident years ago including the late clan head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha." If Itachi was still grieving or any form of sorrow still echoed in him, there was no visible sign. "We never caught the one responsible for this. But that was not the end of it."

The scene changed again to the non-explicit stone similar to where Danzo's body was left to rot on. More specifically a room made of the stone, though that was not what caught everyone's attention. There was a tank of viscous liquid filled to the brim of familiar eyeballs... "Mikoto Uchiha, the current clan head, gave us permission to exhume the bodies. Out of the bodies that could be found, their eyes were... removed. We assume that the missing bodies were dug up and taken for more thorough examination and destroyed. Whatever the case was, Danzo was hoping to enlist Orochimaru's aid in an experiment involving Danzo himself." _This_ did get a reaction from the Uchiha, a creasing frown and the clenching of a hand. Everyone else paled from either the implications of a experiment involving Orochimaru, the smoldering outrage of the noteworthy Uchiha in the room, or the fact that Danzo had no sense of morals when it came to the dead.

Anko was the one to break the silence, "Was there even a response from... _him_?" The Hokage turned a weathered eye to the special Jonin. The scene changed to another corpse on the ground with a broken neck. "Orochimaru was interested, and this man was his messenger. We doubt he'll come to Konoha soon for Danzo since his messenger, or any for that matter, could return to him bearing news."

Anko scowled but nodded, it was reasonable at best to assume the snake sannin wouldn't show up. He'd assume something happened to Danzo or either message was intercepted. Few ever walked into what they thought was a certain trap unless they had a ace up their sleeve after all.

"Considering both parties, or rather a party is dead and the other is left in the dark if he didn't have a hand in it, we suspect a third party was involved. Possibly the one who massacred both citizens and shinobi alike in the massacre," Sarutobi said. The scene changed to a perfect picture of the one infamously dubbed the "mystery man" by many of the shinobi of the village, the ex-Vindicare assassin without his cloak holding his knife up defensively. "We origionally thought this man was behind Danzo's murder along with several others in his immediate vicinity including the messenger till we had a closer look at the evidence we had on hand."

"How did his picture get taken?" A Jonin near the middle asked. The aged leader groaned and pinched his bridge. "Special Jonin Anko Mitarashi had an encounter with him earlier today but was unable to bring him down, let alone touch him."

Said Jonin arrogantly smirked. "So the traitor's student wasn't on par with someone with an attitude?" He boldly asked. He received a fist to the back of the head in response. "Unless you faced him, you have no right to comment on this," stated an Anbu heatedly. Hiruzen added his two scents in as well, "He is a suspect in the murders of several shinobi years ago at Warehouse Nine in Konoha's southern district as well as the kidnapping of Naruto Uzumaki on the same night."

The Hokage returned to the improvised screen, ignoring the paling faces of the more ignorant shinobi and kunoichi alike of that matter. The screen split into two images of Danzo's and the messenger's respective cadavers on two different examination tables. He resumed where he left off without missing a beat, "New evidence suggests it was a different person all together. As you seen, the person in the suit was obviously male." He pointed at a set of finger indentations on the messenger's neck, "And men's fingers tend to be a lot thicker than a woman's own fingers." The finger shaped bruises were indeed slim, thick fingers were one thing, but thick fingers with gloves on them...

Sarutobi pointed to Danzo's corpse. "And the man in question is not known to use a a sword. One can indeed inflict this kind off damage with a kunai or knife, but the severing of his arm in one clean blow would require the use of chakra if it was a blade of short stature. There was no indication he uses chakra at all from what we could gather on the 'Mystery man.'" Unbeknownst to everyone, two sets of eyes narrowed as their suspicions took another leap forward.

XVX

Training ground seven, Konoha, a day after the meeting, Eight-twelve a.m.

So long as they were not inherently dangerous for everyone for malicious reasons, Itachi loved a good mystery now and then when it came to people. It kept the mind sharp. And Naruto fit this criteria. He was training him? Why was he the only one being trained? Was it the same man that had everyone on edge for the past several years? He wasn't the least bit envious of the boy, if anything it was a benefit for all. Namely Naruto was capable of defending himself when push comes to shove and protect others when called for. Shame he wasn't the same blond Itachi protected from the shadows when he was able to, he kind of missed that portion of Naruto.

He was waiting for his team of fledglings under a tree in a Jonin variation of his old Anbu gear with the clan crest on his back. As He waited for them to convene at the end of the hour, he took it upon himself to read the case files of his soon-to-be students to at least brush up facts he forgotten, which was not much. Save for Haruno, he knew his team fairly well long before they were formed. Hard not to when one is your own little brother, and the other was a boy he watched over for a time and occasionally taught after he reappeared. He partially regretted teaching him the shadow clone technique though, made tracking Naruto immensely harder along with his growing ability to slip by people undetected.

He may not be the same blond but he did have a sense of humor... Itachi along with several other people shuddered when he snuck up on them seemingly out of nowhere.

Naruto's case file didn't reveal much outside of what was already known.

Accuracy was superb, unrivaled even. Hand to hand combat was on par with Rock Lee minus his flexibility, but the style was unknown; when described it was like fighting a flexible brawler that constantly blindsides a person as well as constantly switched between defense and offense to trip up his opponents. He preferred short hand-to-hand weapons such as knives, and only used kunai as a last resort if at all; when asked, his answer was it made it harder for someone to defend themselves in such close quarters unless they were trained that way. Genjustu abilities were non-existent, not surprising given his status. His Ninjutsu abilities were seemingly limited to the academy level jutsus but Itachi knew better, he did teach him the shadow clone technique after all, but it was curious to see he would forgo their use unless he deemed it necessary as certain simulations shown; he never answered questions regarding that. His chakra control however was found wanting when compared to Sasuke's. And stealth abilities... Itachi cringed as he remember the first time Naruto caught him by surprise.

Itachi switched from Naruto's record to his own brother's. More accurately at the psychology report. He didn't have to look far to elarn the source of his skill set. And given he knew him on a daily basis... it still didn't hurt to see what a professional had to say.

He frowned. It was as he suspected. Unsociable, sociopathic, and had a superiority complex. Their father had drilled into Sasuke's head what he failed to do with his oldest son due to his mother's teachings and his own experiences, Uchiha superiority. It seemed to only be amplified with hate after the deaths of both him and a third of their clan. It was sad to think their father was a good man, but the attack from the Nine-tails changed everything...

Needless to say, when the village in general started to develop theories as to why it attacked, the clan was subjected to several of these theories portraying them as the villains, and people can only stand against such a thing for so long without some part of them being twisted into something spiteful.

Itachi shook his head. He looked onto his watch to see thirteen minutes till their appointed meeting time. Better wrap this up. He swapped the document for Sakura's record. It was a disappointing read.

She was skilled enough to barely pass the physical parts of the graduation exam. Knew only the academy style combat and justsus. Had a temper when confronted with something deemed annoying, such as her one time friend Ino Yamanaka regarding which boy they liked with both being pro-Uchiha, and the latter later joining the growing Uzumaki camp during their third year into the academy... wait a second, if the silent types were what attracted the ladies, how come he didn't get many back then? It's not fair!

Itachi had to mentally abuse himself to get back on track after that.

His overall assessment, the kunoichi in-training needed to up her ante if she was going to survive in the long run on missions. Let alone her teammate Naruto if she pressed the wrong buttons. There was a reason why The Hokage permitted a family member of a Genin to be their sensei.

He closed the folders just in time to see Sasuke and Sakura to show up. Oh it was obvious what Naruto would-

"Hello Itachi-sensei."

Years of being subjected to this have long since made him immune to being startled like this. He craned his head over his shoulder to see Naruto standing right behind him. "Naruto," Itachi replied curtly. He may be immune to showing some form of shock to this, but he still hated it when it happened.

Without another word, Naruto joined the other two. With a good foot or so between them however.

Sasuke just scowled darkly at the armored boy while Sakura looked caught between joining her crush in his mood and wanting to put some distance between the bandana covered blond and herself. Itachi almost shot up an eyebrow, did the teachers miss something in their report? Then again there wasn't anything about interaction between the two of them now that he thought about it. "Perhaps it was an incident outside of the academy," Itachi reasoned to himself. It was possible given that they lived in the same village.

Itachi cleared his throat, easily catching their attention. "Welcome to training ground seven, where we will be holding most of our team meetings should it you three succeed." This caught the attention of half the group. "What?!" Sasuke exclaimed, Sakura looked confused and pursed her lips while looking at Sasuke. "What do you mean if _we_ succeed?!" Sasuke demanded with a hint of venom. Itachi shifted his attention to the uncaring but stoic face of Naruto. "Would you be so kind as to deduce what I meant by that, Naruto?" He asked calmly, annoying his younger brother to no end as he was passed over.

The bandana covered blond glanced at his teammates to gauge their reactions, or more accurately Sakura's when Sasuke made his much too obvious. He sighed and looked at Itachi, "It's a fairly reasonable thing to do. First there is a test to assess one's knowledge and physical level. Should it be found satisfactory then they are tested further to see if they are capable in a contest of some kind to prove they are worthy of being a shinobi or kunoichi. Am I right so far?" Itachi nodded to him with a small hum of approval.

"Indeed. The 'contest,' as Naruto adequately put it, is a method of the potential team's sensei's choosing. My choice is a fairly traditional method for Konoha, and a bit of a favorite of mine for nostalgic reasons, the bell test." Itachi held up a pair of bells dangling carelessly from between two fingers. "Retrieve the bells from me at the allotted time of two hours after I begin this 'contest' and two of you shall pass. The third will have to be sent back to the academy. My one piece of advice as to how to retrieve these bells is don't hold back. Begin!" Itachi body flickered out of view, in his place was a digital timer counting down from two hours.

Sasuke glanced at his 'teammates' before charging into the forest with a arrogant smirk. Sakura did not waste a second to give chase to her crush with the extra boost of getting away from Naruto. The lone boy casually walked to a nook in the tree and reached in to dig around in it. He pulled out a rather stocky rifle without a visible barrel from the nook.

The AGR-14, latest working design from Hammer Tech., not much for sniping but a reliable mid-range weapon. It was similar to an AK-47, one can toss it into a ditch, set on fire, drown it, stuff mud into the firing reload mechanism, and it will work like a charm. The only weapon he would consider better was the C-10 Canister rifle, now there was a sniper rifle! Light-weight, capable of switching between automatic and -semi automatic, and could bean Kakashi's favorite book right out of his hand before he even knew it. The AGR was its bulkier, heavy duty brother, bigger magazine and bigger bullets, and far less likely to break if used as a club. No room for a sniper scope however, but that was what the goggles were for. It pays to keep tabs on industry in general.

Naruto once again reached into the nook and pulled out a small bag this time. He sat down against the tree and opened the bag to reveal its contents: machine oil, rags, brushes, a wrench, and a silencer. Just a weapon's maintenance kit and weapon modifications, nothing to worry about...

XVX

Forty-eight minutes later Sasuke was hanging upside down from a tree by a rope wrapped around his left ankle groaning from a fresh round of being mauled by his brother without him even moving from his spot. He was that good. To be fair he was an Anbu before being a Jonin sensei, and Sasuke was a Genin. Still didn't mean it wasn't fun to watch Sasuke, quite literally, hang himself. Sakura didn't even leave the cover of the forest since learning of the "fight," he noted with a small frown. Naruto hasn't even made an appereance yet either, but he could reasonably assume Naruto knew what this test was about, hence his lack of involvement.

Itachi coolly walked away, uncaring of the fact that his lack of presence was what enabled Sakura to leave the relative safety of the brush to come to Sasuke's aid. He didn't deign to even look back as he walked to the opposite end of the field with a box of pocky being retrieved from his pocket.

"Sasuke! Are you alright?" She shouted at him with due concern. Already a few bruises were presenting themselves on his arms, at least the uncovered portions, and one forming along his jaw. Her question was easily disregarded by subject of the young girl's affection as Sasuke climbed up his leg to reach the rope suspending him in air. He grabbed onto it and froze as he noticed a shadow casually sitting on a branch looking down at the duo.

"Where the hell have you been idiot?!" He yelled at Naruto, forgetting for a moment about his predicament as he glared at the dark shinobi. Naruto glanced at him when he answered sedately, "Just enjoying the view. It is a nice day after all." Sasuke snarled at him and all but screamed back at him, "I said where, not what you deaf idiot!" He whipped out a kunai and used it as a improvised saw on the rope. He growled as Naruto in all this time stared blankly at the grassy field before the tree as he dug a finger into his ear. He flicked a nonexistent speck of earwax when he replied, "If you keep yelling like that, I'll surely will go deaf, or you'd lose your voice. Whichever comes first."

The rope snapped, dropping the Uchiha onto the ground with a grunt. He got up hastily, threw the kunai at Naruto and dashed off to where Itachi was located. Naruto caught the kunai in a lazy swing and cleared his throat, stopping a retreating Sakura dead in her tracks. She shuddered as she heard a soft plop on the ground when Naruto jumped off the tree.

Every time she saw the blond, she felt a very real chill down her spine; to her, Naruto was scary without argument.

He walked directly in front of her line of sight and stopped with his arms crossed. "Y-yes?" She asked as politely as possible under the pressure.

Naruto just remained quiet. He looked over to where Sasuke and Itachi were, and Sasuke was gritting his teeth in pain after being forced to kneel. A hand from Itachi restrained one of his little brother's hands high behind his back. Sakura's eyes followed.

"Three Genin against one retired Anbu captain. Would any of us really stand a chance?" Sakura jumped a little from Naruto's sudden question. She turned to snap at the dark shinobi, only for her outrage to die in her throat as she observed the uncaring cool features of her teammates' face, but that is not what scared her...

"Tell me, would a single Genin be able to handle someone from Anbu? Let alone handle a Jonin?" He asked, a lone stern eye shifting over to her. Sakura's first reaction yes to outright declare that Sasuke could, but between the dark hair boy being restrained by a otherwise uncaring brother in all this and Naruto's steely semi-glare, she wasn't confident in answering him. Reluctantly she shook her head in defeat.

"Now that we got that out of the way, I think we should discuss as to how we're going to get the bells," Naruto said. Before he could get any further however, Sakura voiced her thoughts, "But what about Sasuke? Shouldn't we have him over if we're going to work as a team?" Naruto stared at her for a moment before turning to Sasuke. Itachi vanished sometime during their talk and left Sasuke once again hanging upside down from a tree by a rope around his ankle. His screams of fury were easily heard.

"Answer me this," Naruto spoke. "Has Sasuke shown any essence of the will to work with others before and during this excercise?" He didn't need to see to know that Sakura lowered her head and shook it in a definite no. "And look at it this way, a lesson to a aspect about shinobi." This caught Sakura's attention. When she looked up, there was a devilish smirk on Naruto as opposed to no emotion at all, "Take advantage of the situation."

XVX

"Sixteen minutes," Itachi noted mentally. It was sixteen minutes till the bell test was over, and he was on edge. Sooner or later whatever plan Naruto concocted was going to take place and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it. During this whole time between losing Sakura at the nearby field and now, he has done nothing but eat pocky and repeatedly failed to humble his young brother. He couldn't help but frown at the ferocity Sasuke was showing with increasing aggression with each and every attack. "Father has definitely done a number on his psyche," Itachi thought for a moment. And thinking of the angry child, unsurprisingly enough, said child leapt out of a tree with a fire justu brought to bear. Itachi flashed a small series of hand seals and spat out a bullet of water, canceling the fiery justu. Itachi reached up and grabbed a attacking, kunai clutching hand and effectively squeezed, forcing his younger brother to drop the weapon.

"Gah!" Cried Sasuke. He brought a hand to Itachi's offending arm and tried to counter squeeze, finding out quickly that he both lacked the fortitude and the strength to force Itachi to let go. Sasuke grimaced in pain and bite his lip t keep himself from screaming under Itachi's strength, that's when he saw it. A red dot, on his wrist; a few years ago he would be questioning what and how this was being caused. Naruto was making his move.

He dropped Sasuke's arm and jumped back with his eyes activated. The matured sharrigan spinning madly, catching the full glory of the metal projectile as it sailed by where his hand used to be; both eyes widened as he caught on what Naruto plotted. Sasuke, as he learned, had a bad habbit of recovering from relatively insignificant assaults at startling rates despite what his body tells him.

Sasuke came at him once again with the multi-purpose weapon that was the kunai, seemingly infuriated by the now red eyes of his elder brother as opposed to his currently normal ones. Using your enemy to be your weapon, a clever move. He lunged a hand at Sasuke's neck with the intent to disable, only to be drawn back as another bullet whizzed by.

They were in a forest, a forest that can provide cover for both sides of combating enemies, but if one of said enemies is forced to defend themselves, then the cover was useless. And a forest can hide so much more than a gunman in the brush. Itachi didn't like it but saw little choice, he had to go into the depths of the forest if he had to get a chance to knock out Sasuke. There was no way he could land a non-lethal blow due to the marksman's aim. And Sasuke was not relenting in his assault, heedless about the support he was getting, to form any hand seals.

He took a step back. His foot directly hitting a tripwire. Itachi shoved Sasuke back and jumped back himself to avoid the hail of kunai peppering his last spot, not that he would've noticed due to the ground giving way under him to reveal a spiked pitfall trap. His legs were planted firmly on the narrow walls of his intended doom. He grabbed the wall in front of him and pulled himself up with enough force to propel him out of the pit.

He landed and jumped away from another flame attack from his younger brother who followed up with a charge. Itachi frowned, , an eye twitched, and a bead a collective bead of sweat threatened to drop at the back of his head when he saw Sasuke get hoisted up into the air... by another rope on his ankle. And the older brother got an earful of profanities by the dozen.

It was just enough to distract him from a pink/red blur from grabbing the bells tucked away plainly at his belt and noisily go away into the brush. Itachi would have given chance had Naruto not opened fire from wherever he hide himself. They both knew the individual shots would not hit him, but they both knew that wasn't the point. If he was right, then there was less than a minute on the timer after all.

XVX

The trio stood before the slightly disgruntled Itachi Uchiha, which didn't compare to Sasuke Uchiha's displeasure. His mouth was frozen shut with a chunky bar of soap in it. Hard to top that for the time being. "Well not orthodox, but you did complete your task today," Itachi mildly congratulated them. "Though there are some aspects we will need to work on," the older Uchiha said while eyeing his scornful, and possibly rabid if the bubbles were an indication, little brother, "this team shows potential. Take the rest of the day off to celebrate. Sasuke however," he reached over and plucked his brother over by the ear, "will have to come with me."

With that said, he flickered away with his sibling, leaving his other two students behind in silence.

Till the newly deemed kunoichi broke it, "YES! We're shinobi! I'm one step closer to gaining Sasuke's affection...!" She hopped in the air with a fist pump. When she calmed down, she adopted a solemn but reluctant smile and turned to lone male in her company. "Thank you for-"

Her jaw dropped. Already a good distance away was Naruto Uzumaki walking out of the field with a hand waving a lazy good bye without turning to see if she was looking.

A gust of wind blew through the open grass field followed by a moment of silence. "That was just rude," she said deadpanned quietly.

**A/N: To those who know your Starcraft, yes, I added two weapons from the game. I went with the armor, and introduced guns to the world of Naruto, so why not? And for the record, I favor Spectres over Ghosts any day, everything is cooler in black! As for the weapon Naruto is using, I based its looks off from what could be seen in the armory section of the ship should you side with Tosh with the silencer from the actual game play. Why they weren't classified, or more accurately mentioned, as gauss weaponry, or at least the AGR, I felt that adding such high powered weapons would be too much. Hence my downgrade into relatively more basic weapons.**

**Which partially brings me to present you all with a challenge to anyone willing to give a crack at it.**

**Challenge:**** Introduce your own Original Character (OC) from the Starcraft universe to the Naruto-verse to affect the life (or lives) of the known characters of Naruto in roles ranging from companion to teacher if they so wish, villain is also allowed. Such as what I did to Naruto with the Assassin. May be any (preferably known) class of units, such as Marine, Zealot, or a semi- (if not fully)- free willed converted agent into the Zerg (think along the lines of Kerrigan, queen of blades) as examples, I imagine it will be fairly hard to have an intelligent Zerlging or the likes being of the catagory but I'm not stopping you. First page must be at least a thousand words strong, not including any notes or disclaimers.**

**Please let me know if you do take this challenge so I can get a look at your work!**

**With that said- Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No Refunds.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between. **

**To Hartha: Archer beat you to that in the name regard, I intend to go back to fix certain things after I'm done with the story.**

**To Trooper0007: Yes, Spectres and Ghosts are from StarCraft.**

**So are any little pink fairies with electronic wands...**

**(Some other guy): Really?**

**(MB2): ... (Wallops on S.o.g. with a banjo.)**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 5: First step, 'boot camp.' Second step, life

Unknown location

"Life's little circles," a lone figure mused in the darkness of the room. "One day's predator becomes the next day's prey."

In the darkness a wistful, hurt smile adorns the features of the hidden person.

XVX

Konoha, ordinary street

"To seek a different results from a the same actions is the definition of insanity."

Naruto was not sure who said it, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it as he watched his two teammates lying on the ground from another failed assault on the local terror, besides him if one asked the older generation of the village, of Konoha, Tora the cat. Pet of the Fire Daimyo's wife. Said terror was nestled between his arms eating a sardine while at the same time growling at the prospect of being returned to her overbearing mistress, at least sardines eased the pain a little...

One thing Naruto learned quickly about the cat after their third attempt on the exact same 'mission' the first time they did this, Tora liked sardines. Occasionally tuna worked but she always preferred the smelly minnows over the tuna for some reason. And twenty-one missions of retrieving Tora later, he had been dubbed "The Royal Cat Catcher" by the chunin handling the mission scrolls much to his chagrin... they could've at least put more effort into it.

This mission would make it the twenty-third time. And the twenty-second time Itachi was pinching the bridge of his nose over the matter from Sasuke's rather odd infatuation of taking the cat by force when Naruto discovered the much easier alternative, not to mentioned painless. It was a sad day when a relatively experienced genin is mauled by a cat. Stupid bastard. At least Sakura had the foresight to wear improvised armor over the matter.

"Might as well get this over with," Naruto sighed. The Terror of Konoha mewled pitifully in his arms with tears in her eyes.

XVX

Training ground fourty-four, aka "Forest of Death," Seven-fourteen P.M.

A sizable snake came crashing down on the ground several feet from the trees above. The reason was simple, there was a gory chunk that was most of its head missing. Naruto didn't cast a second glance at it as he scribbled down on a note pad, a shotgun with a smoking barrel was cradled against his shoulder. It was the third one this week that suffered from the testing of explosive shotgun shells. And the third one that doubled as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No sense in wasting a kill after all.

"Little brutal there, weren't you shrimp?" A female voice called out jokingly. "That would be a point of view," was his reply, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he jotted down the last word of the day on the pad. He jumped down to his victim, followed by a shadow landing on the ground with a soft plop. She smiled and walked toward the corpse, whistling an impressed tune as she circled it. "Remind me not to be on the wrong end of that thing when you wave it around."

Naruto smirked as he dug into the dead snake with a bowie knife, "Duly noted Anko." Anko smirked back a little as she stared at the foreign knife, well foreign to most people. Not many carried knives outside of kunai due to the utility of it: throwing knives, digging tools, personal offense/defense, can tie a string or piece of rope on it for differing purposes. But every now and then she saw a shinobi use a knife, but Naruto was the first one she seen use a bowie knife. She had to admit, it had its uses, shame it was not meant for stealth but more for skinning, cutting, and dealing sizable wounds on people if put to work. Especially if they were well maintained.

Her attention went to the shotgun, now clipped to the back of his chest plate as he reducing the top half of the snake to bones at a steady pace, and the meat was placed on a outlaying scroll. She briefly wondered when he pulled that out but ignored it in favor of her more immediate question, "So new bullets eh?" She asked. She may not know about guns, but it didn't hurt to know what not to be killed with.

"Explosive shells, meant for outright destruction on flesh and blood targets or opening up heavy armor," Naruto replied. He didn't look up from his kill. Anko gave an appreciative whistle. "Any good against chakra empowered earth barriers?" She asked. She grinned when Naruto suddenly stopped and squinted his eyes. Naruto was a level of fun on his own, if he was ever scared he didn't show it unlike her other 'playmates,' he seldom acted under provocation sans Sasuke's mocking of his codes, but there was one thing that she could get a kick out of. Introducing a question he doesn't know the answer to that is well within his ability to discover. "It should," he said.

Anko walked over to his side and poked him with a growing grin. "So you don't know?" She asked teasingly. Revenge can be so sweet at times. Where Itachi and many others have failed, she found a way to get back at Naruto when he sneaks up on them. "A pity, not sure if I want to use such a weapon if it can't pierce a defense justsu. It's just so sad," she said with a pout, and mockingly wiped a tear from her eye. She loved to toy with him around small details. It was refreshing from subtle threats with a kunai. She looked back at him with a smile- wait, where did he go? She barely got started on a groan when he popped up behind her and whispered into her ear, "Boo."

Anko launched herself and landed on the still scaly half of the snake with a drawn kunai, and a hand trying to stop her pulsing heart threatening to leave her chest. She outright glared at the grinning dark shinobi. "Has anyone told you that they hate that?" She asked seriously with squinted eyes. Sneaky bugger. "Other than just you?" He asked back half seriously. Correction, cheeky sneaky bugger.

He turned his back on her, went over to the scroll, and sealed the snake meat and skin he collected into two separate seals on the scroll. He slipped the scroll into the inside of his chest plate and took off without a word, leaving Anko with the half stripped headless, by majority, snake.

She growled to herself and yelled out to him, "Still untested against chakra enhanced barriers!" She grinned as she imagined she tripped him up with that. It did, but she didn't know that.

XVX

Naruto sighted the fence and prepared to jump it. He narrowed his eyes and looked back, only to see nothing. What just set off his senses? It was brief but he felt like he was being watched. Whatever it was, it wasn't a shinobi...

He jumped the fence and never looked back.

XVX

Mission office, Hokage Tower, three months since formation

Naruto suppressed a sigh. Two months and all they did were D-rank missions outside of training in chakra control techniques that were oddly enough not in the academy, such as tree walking, as well as understanding the nature and use of elemental justsus. That and the occasional 'teamwork' exercise which always ended with Itachi holding Sasuke up by the scruff of his shirt at the back while sternly staring at Naruto to prevent his little brother from being bloodied further. Sakura made some improvement, she can now run a mile without being winded!

Sadly that was the only improvement in regards of the team as a whole between Sasuke's home tutelage and Naruto's questionable training during the hours the team wasn't in session. Sakura however shown no signs of such activity the other two had shown. But what annoyed Naruto the most, other than the quantity of somewhat humiliating D-rank missions, was the hidden purpose of the D-ranks not being met, teamwork. That and get Konoha paid but that was always fulfilled. When possible, Sasuke would make the effort to go off on his own in a bid to prove his superiority in a subject. Most of the time it was asinine, other times more trouble than it was worth. Case and point: he believed the more dogs he could handle, the better he was. Four hours later they found Sasuke in the hospital being treated for road burn, a broken wrist, and bruising. To add insult to literal injury, the ones who found him were none other than Might Guy and his apprentice Rock Lee, who somehow mistook Sasuke's cries for help as a challenge to a foot race while he was being dragged by dogs at first. How it happened was beyond Team Seven. In that same afternoon, a startling rumor was spread where Itachi was reported to be cringing over in pain while laughing about a unknown subject. No one was able to confirm or deny it yet despite Yamanaka assistance.

Now here they were in the office yet again with the Hokage on duty at the desk as they were about to partake in yet _another_ D-rank mission where they will most likely pickup sticks in- "I would like to request a C-rank mission Lord Hokage," Itachi said calmly.- a old man's yard- wait, what did Itachi just say? Naruto, with Sakura, turned to look at his sensei with owlish eyes while Sasuke smirked.

C-rank mission? For Team Seven? Who killed Itachi and had the gall to replace him?

In near perfect unison, the owl impersonating duo brought up their hands and quietly said "break" to no affect. The Hokage grinned a tad impishly at that.

"Are you sure you want to do a C-rank mission so soon? We have plenty of D-ranks that you could do, such as this lovely mission to collect sticks from the yard of one of our senior citizens." "I Knew it!" Naruto screamed in his mind, he could almost swear he heard laughing at that, it was more of a snicker really.

Itachi nodded, "I am sure Lord Hokage, I am sure that this could be an invaluable experience for my team." Though Naruto narrow his eyes to a noticeable degree, the Hokage did so by a diminutive fraction that only the jonin sensei could see. He wasn't surprised that they caught onto him. What better way to establish the imperative of teamwork than potential life and death situations? Itachi doubted even the Hokage could answer that one with a straight face.

"Very well," the elderly man said. "We have a escort and bodyguard mission to the Land of Waves for one bridge builder by the name of Tazuna, do you accept?"

Itachi gave him a curt nod, followed by a bow when he received the mission scroll. The Hokage pressed a button to the intercom on the mission desk and asked, "Could you please bring in Tazuna of Wave country?" He released the button. At most they waited a minute before the door opened, and in came a man with grayed hair 'armed' with a sake bottle. He cast a glance at the Genin team and froze. The Jonin he at least expected, kids, not so much yet that wasn't what got him. There was a fierceness in the eyes of the leather suited armored boy with a large rifle clipped to his back that he couldn't identify. If he did get a team of brats, he'd expect something along the lines of youthful punks that never left the confines of their home. This one was acquainted with death, this one had no qualms about it.

"Are you alright Tazuna?" The Hokage asked, he knew why he froze when he glanced at who he was staring at, he could understand what was going through his mind but one, he was holding up the other Genin teams that came in for missions, and two, he'd rather get this over with or else risk the undoubtedly mountainous paperwork that crept into his office crushing him the second he opened the door.

The bridge builder snapped out of it. "Huh? Nothing! Um... When will we be off?" He asked, more off kilter than he was when drinking.

XVX

Konoha Southern gate, Five-fifty-two A.M.

Tazuna may not be aware of it, but he was being watched by Naruto as he, Sasuke, and Itachi waited for Sakura to arrive. "People always tell more than they intend to with their bodies than their voice, and they are hardly aware of it," a deep, reverberating voice said in his head. It was his voice. Or rather the voice he never revealed. He was right.

Tazuna scratched his arm as if scratching an itch, it was always the same area. When he looked at the road, he subtlety took a drink from his seemingly endless bottle of sake. There was a look in his eyes, much like someone looking for a sign of trouble, yet at the same time a underlying tone of determination marked the orbs in his skull. Marching forward when you were scared witless because you have to, Naruto was sure he'd laugh at that for the sheer nostalgia of it all. Tazuna was hiding something, that much was certain.

He looked to the side to see Sakura finally coming into view from around the corner, and giving them a polite wave as she approached in a small jog.

"Finally," Tazuna mumbled as they ambled away. Down to the road to Wave country, and the road to change the fate of Team Seven as they know it...

XVX

Training ground fourteen, Konoha

She sighed a breathless sigh as she looked up to the sky from the base of a tree. He continues to ignore her in that fashion. He talks to her, acknowledges her dream, and helped her learn the intricacies of using a gun from pistol to sniper rifle, but he doesn't give her the attention she sought from him. Tenten felt a bit cold as she sat alone in the woods that was deemed a training ground. It was quiet.

At first when it all began she genuinely wanted to know about firearms to add to her personal arsenal, give her a few other tricks up her sleeve. She smiled wistfully, her voice tired and lonely, "Yet when you work and train for someone long enough, you get attached to him." She wrapped her arms around herself to give herself warmth.

He was serious almost all the time save for the occasional quirks as one Anko Mitarashi had revealed to her when she interrupted whatever training session they were in time from time. She smiled at the memories of Anko teasing, and as she called it "claiming vengeance" on Naruto for whatever he had done to her. It took a lot, but she could get him to be lively. She frowned as she remembered the occasional spars she stood witness to from the sidelines between Naruto and Hinata Hyuga, she knew Hinata had an eye on the blond too. When they were together having a conversation or two, she always felt a pain in her chest and the great urge to drag the bandana wearing blond away from the clan girl.

She clutched where her heart was. She also seen the smile he gave her time from time, a smile he gave her time from time as well. It was a weird thing coming from him, it made one feel safe, it was like enjoying a warm summer day that one wants to sleep in under a tree with their feet on the grass.

Something wet slid down her cheek, and she knew what it was. It wasn't the first time she came to this spot to be alone. And most likely will not be the last time as long as Naruto remained an enigma in her quest for affection, if she could at least know why he never looked at her as she did him...

She shook her head and stretched in spot, no use in pondering it if time will ultimately tell her what she never knew. The only people other than Hinata, whom will most likely sabotage her efforts, was Naruto's teammates. Even that was a slim chance. From what she learned, Sasuke has taken the time and effort to be Naruto's enemy, Sakura was actually scared about something regarding the blond according to the grapevine, and Itachi kind of scared her even if it's not intentional on his part.

She lifted her head up from its resting place and cracked her neck to get rid of the stiffness with a small moan of discomfort. Always a result from her sessions here. She closed her eyes, hunched over and took a deep breath as she slowly used the tree to climb up to her feet. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a peculiar sight. Grass, dirt, and trees as far as the eyes can see were an expected sight, but not a foot dangling off a tree.

The foot was adorned in a slipper in the same fashion Tenten worn but in a simple black rather than the dark blue she worn. She looked up to find a panted leg in a dark tan cloth. Her eyes continued to go up to find the other leg in a crossed leg fashion one does when sitting down time from time, and a pair of hands resting on top of that. She spotted a light gray blouse accompanied by bare arms as she traveled up, and stoped at the amused face of her unknown companion in the training ground. A young woman with platinum blond hair with her left eye meticulously covered by a large bang while the rest of her hair washed over her shoulders as she looked down at the young kunoichi. Only one thing crossed Tenten's mind.

"How'd she get there without me knowing?"

XVX

Momochi Hideout, three days later

The infamous Demon of the Mist, Zabuza Momoichi, was lying in a bed wrapped up in bandages while being attended to by his only companion in all this, aside from the now deceased Demon Brothers Gozu and Meizu, Haku. His near none existent eyebrows were creased between worry, frustration, and mild confusion. He didn't once suspect he had underestimated those genin, perhaps he didn't give their sensei enough credit.

When the Demon Brothers originally came back to him reporting they let the bridge builder pass without so much as a hassle, Zabuza was furious, it took the mentioning of Itachi Uchiha's name to simmer him down. After all, what good would two chunin class shinobi be against a S-class Shinobi? If anyone had a shot at taking them down in their group, it was Zabuza; a fact he delighted in.

He was not prepared for this outcome.

_(Flashback!)_

Other than the Uchiha, this was an easy mark if what the brother had told him was true. The Genin didn't quite get along, specifically the boys of the group. Zabuza smirked as he thought, "Must have be over the girl in the group... kids these days, no discipline." Is real concern was the very real life and death situation he'll be in with their sensei, Itachi Uchiha, who like him was an ex-Anbu operative. The relative best of the best in rank-and-file shinboi. If what he heard from the grapevine of Mist shinobi that operated the spy networks was true then he had more reason to worry about the Uchiha, not many of that clan only use their bloodline as a last resort after it was unlocked.

The brothers were in position in the shrubs at opposite sides of the clearing. Haku was ready in the forest ready to cover them should they need to get out of there. Aside from the Genin team in question, they were waiting for Zabuza to make the first move. The only real question for Zabuza is how to fight Itachi, the man was bound to use his sharingan on him if he didn't end their fight soon. His best chance might be on the nearby lake where any waves they make would be able to distort the heavy visual reliability of the sharingan to enable him to use justsu seals in relative safety if he dove into the lake.

He looked towards the sea in earnest, his patience was wearing a bit thin and the idea of besting the renown leaf shinobi was not helping in the least. He smiled under his bandage mask as he saw the shadowed figures in the mist. Just a little closer.

XVX

Itachi eyed their front warily, the country may be surrounded by the sea but the fog was too heavy for it to be natural at this time of day. Sasuke was but a foot or so behind him, unconcerned for their surroundings unlike his brother, there hadn't been so much as a mosquito to attack them since they left Konoha so why would he be now? Sakura was next to Tazuna, trying to engage him conversation about subjects he was evading with some skill such as the current economy of the country. They all ended with "we have been having some trouble." Naruto was lagging behind by a couple of feet with the AGR drawn and cradled in his arms as he eyed their surroundings.

The group stopped when a bush rustled without provocation, and Tazuna stiffened with his sake bottle held in a death grip. Itachi walked calmly to the bush and reached into it, plucking out a white haired rabbit from the leafy cover. "Tch, worked up over a rabbit," Sasuke grumbled and glared at nothing in particular in front of him. He easily missed the suspicious eyes of Naruto and Itachi, rabbits don't have white fur in spring. Itachi widened his eyes his brief horror as he realized what just happened, combined with a fast approaching thing in the air leaving a heavy thud as it spun.

"Duck!" Itachi yelled. Duck they did, and the rabbit in question scampered away into the dark reaches of the forest. All eyes turned to a figure standing atop a zanbato shaped like a butcher knife with a hole near the top of it. The man was shirtless, wearing a blue scarf, worn a harness probably to carry the same sword he was standing on, wearing urban style camouflage leg warmers, the same style of arm warmers on his forearms, was wearing blue striped pants, had a shinobi head plate tied to his to the side of his head, and this man was chortling. "Itachi Uchiha of the leaf village, I never thought I'd live to see the day where a prodigy would step down from the Anbu to-"

_Click_.

That was all the warning Zabuza needed to drop from his sword, pry it free, and dart away to avoid a burst of gunfire. He looked over his shoulder and noted it was the one with the bandana and gun that shot at him, and readied another burst at him. With a single hand seal, the fog around them grew even denser, a double edged sword for both sides but he doubted that the kid would risk hitting his team and client to get at him. Zabuza swung his sword down in a cleaving motion, intercepting a ninjato slicing through the mist, the resounding clang produced enough force to part the cloaked air to reveal Itachi passively staring at him with calculating eyes. "Zabuza Momoichi, the 'demon of the mist,' I could likewise say that I did not expect you to come after a bridge builder in a small country."

Zabuza smirked.

XVX

Haku frowned from under the mask. Granted one of them was armed with a rifle, but did Zabuza have to make the field so thick as to blind everyone in and out of it? There wasn't much hope to give anyone some fashion of support, be it range to prevent someone from hoisting a kunai in the air, or faking their deaths for another go later down the road. Waiting in the trees was the only resort now as to not violate the last ditch effort to escape... Haku did not like this.

XVX

Gaizu and Gozu quietly cackled to themselves as they wrapped the dark shinobi with their spiked chain. What confused them however was the fact the kid wasn't getting assistance. The client they were half expecting to cower in fear of them, not many civilians can handle themselves against shinobi in action after all. At least none that they knew of. The one in the red dress was terrified as well, holding up her kunai while quaking to the bone. Obviously a greenhorn, and from the looks of it this was her first mission that had a serious edge to it. The dark hair boy however, apparently another Uchiha, just watched on with both arms folded casually over his chest. He wasn't even going to help.

The brothers shrugged at each other, free kill. If they looked at their eyes, they would have seen bits of a visual argument between the two. Sasuke leered at him with a triumphant smug smile, Naruto just glared at him with a void face. The chain easily pierced and shredded his flesh. In a matter of seconds, a bloody pile of what used to be Naruto dropped to the ground as the duo rounded on the other genin and client.

They took one step over to a prepared, smirking, Sasuke and horrified kunoichi plus client when they heard it. The distinctive poof, be it a body switch or a shadow clone. They rounded back to the fallen shinobi to find nothing left. They been duped!

Both went back-to-back with each other and assumed the defensive with one brother eyeing the confused Genin while the other hunted for the missing shinobi. The hunter turned his head and paled. He found the boy with a fairly large gun pointed directly in the rogue shinobi's face. The last image burned into his mind were cold blue eyes marred by a flash. Both brothers suffered the same fate in one shot.

Sasuke looked on in shock, how did the 'idiot' survive? He just saw him torn to bloody shreds! His mind was going a mile a minute, but it wasn't fast enough to process the supposedly dead 'rival' from creeping right up to him, and simply punching him along his eye. His last thought while conscious was none other than "How?" Without a word from anyone, he crumbled to a heap on the ground.

XVX

Zabuza was giving Itachi a calculated glare as they both floated atop the lake. Save for the nick on his shoulder, neither party has injured the other and Itachi had yet to use his sharingan on him. Ultimately it was a stalemate, and he was running out of chakra. He risked a glance to the cloud of fog nearby and wondered about the fate of the bridge builder. His fight with Itachi kept him from listening in on any telltale details. When he returned his attention back to his opponent, his eyes bulged out as he caught the last hand seal.

"Fire release: Great Fireball!"

Zabuza jumped back, out of the reach of the ball of flaming death, only to be shocked to learned what was next. A pair of hands burst out of the water and grabbed him by the ankles, pulling him under where a second Itachi was waiting for him and punched him hard in his gut. Air bubbles flew out of his mouth and Zabuza gagged, he should've been paying attention! Otherwise two clones and the real Itachi wouldn't have him in this predicament. As a Itachi above water calmly walked to where Zabuza was drowning, the Itachi in front of the man proceeded to strangle him for added effect as the third one kept him from swimming away.

Snarling both in mind and body, though easily mutilated by the growing dire need for air, Zabuza was forced to resort to desperate measures. He flung a fist to the Itachi strangling him, blind siding the man and keeping him from seeing a rapid series of one handed seals Zabuza was forming. The Itachi above water narrowed his eyes to slits, he was forced to halt his advance when a spire of water rose up several feet in the air and almost literally spat out Zabuza and the two Itachi doubles. Zabuza landed harshly on the shore of the lake where the trees and land taper to a point, separating him and his sword by a small margin. The two doubles landed just as brutally and popped out of existence, revealing their true nature.

Itachi body flickered to the spot in front of Zabuza just in time to see the swordsman pop a dislocated arm back into place between hacking coughs. He glared at Itachi and reached for his fallen sword, but stood stock still when two senbon needles protruded from his neck. Like a corpse, he fell onto his knees and landed face first in the moist ground.

Another shinboi wearing a mask and kimono jumped into view, collected the giant sword, then Zabuza's motionless body. With a grunt, the mystery shinobi managed to heave the obviously heavy objects up and turned to the leaf shinboi, and offered him a bow of the head. "Thank you for wearing down Zabuza Momoichi. I have been tracking him for some time, I will be off to destroy the body," the shinobi stated. But tensed when Itachi was reaching for his kunai pouch, he wasn't fooled.

The older shinobi jumped back when he saw something dropped out of the sleeve of the other shinobi. His instinct for survival was rewarded by a blindingly bright light followed by a thunderous boom, deafening him to the world around him. Stun grenades, effective yet nasty depending on how far one was from them.

He stood at the ready for some kind of assault that he could hopefully detect, yet nothing came. He frowned, at least he had his life despite Zabuza escaping. But now they had two problems, their client's falsifying of the facts regarding the mission, and Zabuza coming back for round two.

_(End Flashback!)_

That landing did more damage than Zabuza anticipated, bruised ribs, fracturing along his previously dislocated arm, and muscle contusion. He wasn't this banged up since his chunin days. Now all he could do is wait for a month, by Haku's insistence, and plot how to take Itachi down despite the added difficult that was sure to come. Unlike his brother, he knew when to play it safe.

**A/N: Meh he he. Kind of feel like blabbing this, but I wanted to show that Naruto wasn't entirely serious the entire time. There's a few moments in his life that he can drop the serious act.**

**And once again in regards of updating, had nothing better to do at the moment.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between. Same could be said for Starcraft in general, along with characters of other works.**

****Starts a tally in regards of E E Marcia breaking his four chapter code.****

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 6: The idle month of May, Part 1

Forest of Wave country, twelve days after arrival of Team Seven

Shikamaru Nara groaned out a "troublesome" to himself as the three of them were on their stomachs under a bush, he would have bothered asking why he had signed up to join Naruto as he scouted out Gato's local forces but he knew that answer long before he even came to Wave country to assist Team Seven. Ino Yamanaka, self proclaimed president of the Naruto Uzumaki fan club. He counted his blessings when Asuma Sarutobi, their sensei, had the foresight to distract the girl at every turn they could predict, Sasuke was already proving himself enough of a nuisance as is.

He looked towards the bandana covered blond with his goggles drawn over his eyes and a finger toying with some sort of switch hidden on the top of the goggles, then back at the loading/unloading dock of the nearby warehouse they were spying on. Troublesome came to his mind once again as he lazily observed from natural eyesight. The only sound breaking the silence was his teammate's, Choji Akimichi, near insistence on eating. If the blond had a problem with it, he wasn't showing any indicators.

The Nara sighed and remembered how they got roped into this. They, Team Ten, were in the Mission office when a emergency message came in. Team Seven's mission, a supposed C-rank, was upgraded to an A-rank with the appearance of Zabuza Momochi and a unknown accomplice. No casualties on their part but they were not pulling out, they simply request assistance for just-in-case measures. There seemed to be something that concerned the Hokage, but not enough to be mentioned to Team Ten when his son Asuma volunteered them. Oh how Ino screamed at the chance to be reunited with the blond of Team Seven and nearly dragged _all_ of them out the door. They had to knock her out to get the proper supplies before leaving.

It was two days after that event when they arrived to a decrepit village and met up with Team Seven at their client's home. The situation was not good. Gato, a local shipping magnate had the entire island in a iron grip by owning and blocking shipping lanes going to and from the island. He only sold them products charged at ludicrous prices, even then they were not top quality as he 'advertised,' and forced them to pay tribute to him with his army of hired muscle. Other than Zabuza and his cohort, few of them had any real skill to be feared outside their numbers and street-wise knowledge of violence. Tazuna was building a bridge to circumvent Gato's control and open up trade and even help.

To add to the problems, it seems Sasuke did something incredibly dumb and was proving himself hostile towards everyone. What Sasuke did was not a talked about subject, Itachi wasn't saying a word and neither was Naruto, Sakura was in a ashamed brand of silence and did not look anyone in the eye, and their client Tazuna sported a frown and a heavy look of angered disagreement about the subject. What he was disagreeing to, Shikamaru could only imagine, and neither did the man's family for that matter. All he knew was that Asuma was told, and he in turn told them to keep their distance from Sasuke.

Normally Shikamaru was not a guessing man, but he could speculate. Sasuke did something deliberately against Konoha shinobi code. That was the only reasonable conclusion at this juncture. If he was half right, then this was probably serious enough to go over to military court.

XVX

Field H.Q., aka Tazuna's home

Ino was not a happy camper, her Naruto was out in the field right now and she was stuck at the house doing a brief remedial lesson on chakra control with _her_ and Sasuke. Granted they didn't know when Zabuza would pop up again, let alone his unnamed accomplice, but they could be doing something else. But no, Asuma and Itachi worked out a schedule where one group scouted the area for additional information, one group trained, and the last one watched over Tazuna when he went to work on the bridge. However before they left each day, Itachi and Asuma left a clone of themselves to monitor the training portion of the students. Or Sasuke Uchiha as Ino caught them staring at the dark haired boy more often than the girls.

Now that she noticed it, Sakura hadn't made much of an effort to help, console, to anything regarding the young Uchiha. She couldn't understand why, Sakura doggedly pursued him back at the academy. Now she can barely look at him. When she looked at Sakura, it was like seeing someone with a part of their soul ripped out. The investigative reporter in her was starting to rear its head. She must find out!

Hours after practice, after Sasuke and the clones left, she descended on a weary Sakura as she sat by herself on a stool along the wall of the house. At first she was going to come straight to the point, but seeing her somber mood halted her and made her think of a more tactful approach for the sake of their old friendship. "Hey," Ino said, startling Sakura from whatever she was thinking about. Ino received a small, polite, yet worn smile from Sakura in return.

Ino took a seat on the ground next to Sakura and gave her a warmer version of her smile before turning up to the blue sky above. "Nice day today," she said. Sakura hummed her acknowledgement and joined her in her gaze. Nothing was said between the two of them for some time.

A small breeze milled past them and each took a respective deep breath of the fresh air. "You know," Ino finally said, "At first I thought my luck was at its worst when I got assigned to Team Ten. You know how Shikamaru and Choji are right? Either eating or cloud watching, those two are as exciting as a sleeping leg!" Ino chuckled lightly, Sakura managed a small mirthful smile.

"It took awhile but I got use to it. Choji tends to take while but when he gets started, he keeps going on and on like he had some sort of eternal source of energy in him. Shikamaru tends to plot out how to capture any animals we have to collect and such when we have trouble with them, by the way, is it true that Naruto discovered a way to catch the Terror without trouble?" Sakura scoffed in soft amusement, "With sardines, she likes them apparently."

Ino laughed, "So it's true! I knew it!" She thrusts a punch into the air and exclaims, "Trust Ino Yamanaka to discover the truth behind gossip!" This manage to illicit a chuckle from the now recovering Sakura. "So anyway, Asuma-sensei can be a real slave driver, you know? Always getting us to train, getting me to change my clothes almost every day because of all the sweat and dirt that collects on me when we do. Even then he had us do missions, who knew Inuzuka hounds could be so pushy, right? They're all out brutes on their walks." Ino leaned back against the house, groaned, and rubbed her temples to suppress the migraine of even remembering the eager canines. Sakura just kept smiling as she too leaned back onto the wall.

Ino glanced up at her wear former friend and hide a frown from her. She inhaled a quiet breath, the next part will be tricky knowing her luck. "So how have you been since team placements?" Ino asked 'innocently' enough. What light Sakura emitted dulled, but not as dark as she was found before their conversation.

Sakura smiled forlornly, "I'm not sure if I was as lucky as you, you saw me when I heard I was on the same team as Sasuke, correct?" Ino nodded, whether Sakura seen it or not was unknown to Ino as Sakura continued to stare at the sky. "It was like walking to a bright light, a light leading to somewhere good. Then I walked past it to find not pearly gates and clouds to greet me. It was more like a rundown shop without anyone at the counter..." Sakura wringed her wrists.

"It all started on the bell exam to prove we were shinobi material, and I rushed into the forest after Sasuke went in to find Itachi-sensei. When we did, Sasuke just rushed in to take the bells by force, I would've helped but... I froze." She smirked a miserable smirk, "When people think of family members, they would think it would be about people closely related helping each other. But Itachi-sensei wasn't pulling his punches when it came to beating Sasuke up. He even forced him into submission several times, and left him tied up to a tree by his foot. Back then I couldn't comprehend that. It was after Naruto appeared from wherever he was hiding that we succeeded... without Sasuke." A part of Ino wanted to cheer on about how awesome the blond was, but she knew better.

"I got to talk to Itachi-sensei after the exam, the next day, and asked him why he didn't go easy on Sasuke during the whole match." Sakura shuddered a little before continuing, "He just looked at me in the eye when he answered. 'Names and blood may hold some significance, but ultimately do not matter in a fight between shinobi. Just the ability to survive,' was what he said." She sighed and closed her eyes wearily, "At first I didn't get what he meant. For awhile it drove me nuts. I even went to Naruto to see if he could decipher the message I didn't get."

"He just looked a bit annoyed but he answered me. 'Shinobi takes lives regardless of they being a saint or sinner. If anything, a large name and a bloodline would be more reason to get one killed. They do not protect you from someone who is out to kill you. You and anyone allied to you protect you, not a name, nor a bloodline, they can be surpassed if you learn to exploit their weaknesses.' I couldn't find a way to argue that." She opened her eyes to view the sky once more. "After awhile I began to notice that Sasuke... wasn't the epitome of being a shinobi. The minute someone suggests something he attacks it and replaces it with his own. He is asked to stay, and he charges. He won't listen to anyone or help anyone he thinks are not worth his time."

She frowned, "I got more help from Itachi-sensei, Naruto, Tenten, and Hinata in one day more than I got from Sasuke in a month." If Sakura shifted her gaze to Ino, she would've found the girl grinding her teeth and strangling her pony-tail at the mentioning of those names. She might have also heard the cogs in Ino's mind beginning whirl as she planned to capture the other blonds' attention somehow, someway, just as long as he was hers and only hers. Ino's attention snapped back to her pink-haired compatriot when her mind finally registered she was talking again, "-those two shinobi had Naruto wrapped up in this spiked chain attached to their gauntlets and I was scared. More scared then I was back at the bell exam, more scared then when I thought Naruto was this ghoul-like being according to my parents. I may not like him as a friend, but he helped me when I both needed and wanted it." Sakura was trembling again and used her own arms to hug herself.

"Sasuke didn't even lift a finger to help him. He just looked on when Naruto was in danger, and he only drew his kunai out when they shredded 'Naruto' to... well shreds. I don't know how Naruto did it, let alone when, but he swapped out with some sort of specially made clone. He appeared out of the mists like some sort of specter with this bulky looking gun in hand. He took both of the shinobi down in one shot, and knocked out Sasuke." Sakura took a very deep breath and sighed out a heavy sigh, "I don't think I ever seen Itachi-sensei look so... " She bite her lip trying to describe it. "It was like he was aloof and furious at the same time if that makes any sense."

She smiled sadly and looked at a expressionless Ino as she processed what she said, "As a team, I doubt we can survive." Ino dumbly nodded at that. Sasuke willing to let someone die... Not good. "I should tell Shikamaru and Choji when they get back," she thought to herself. Neither felt the touch of another breeze as it passed by.

XVX

Regional Gato H.Q., Ten-thirty-seven p.m.

One report, one dinner, one drugging of Sasuke to ensure success , and one convincing Itachi later enabled the stealth specialist of the Genin present to infiltrate Gato's current place of residence. It was a surprising mixture between decadent and pragmatic. Overall it was a typical mansion of a rich man, gold door knobs, expensive wood doors and tables, and armed guards at fairly important junctures. To complete this summer retreat was a improvised barracks for the hired muscle, a beer hall, an armory, and several offices for the more paper savvy workers. This was Naruto's interest, outside the armor that is.

From what he gathered from eavesdropping on Gato's improvised army, the man did not like to pay huge sums of money unless it was a absolute last resort. If he could he would intimidate, blackmail, and extort people amongst other things if he could get away with it. As long as he got what he wanted, he was a happy man. Considering he hired shinobi of Zabuza Momochi's caliber, Naruto speculated that Gato probably had either dirt on him that outweighed the risks of employing him or he wasn't paying him at all. As far as Naruto, and later Itachi along with Asuma when he heard of the blonds' plan, were concerned, if they could neutralize Zabuza as an opponent then Gato had nothing to use against Tazuna aside from an army of thugs.

So far he had yet to be detected, and learned that Zabuza and his cohort didn't live in the mansion which made the job much easier. He and a clone armed with a satchel of remote charges went their separate ways with little worry.

XVX

Phone bills, no. Weapon shop invoices, no. Shipping invoices, no. Repair shop invoices, no. Ice cream parlor invoices, okay... but still no.

Apparently this cabinet did not hold evidence to any requests Zabuza may or may not have made. Time for expenditures.

Naruto opened the drawer of a different cabinet while occasionally glancing at the door. So far he found nothing to indicate either Zabuza's enforced or bought loyalty. So far the most Gato paying for was for a masseuse, a really good one too if the numbers of that invoice was something to go by.

Office workers, no. Mercenary payment, no. Invoices paid, no. Medical supplies, no. Clothing, no.

Naruto kept flipping through file after file. Nothing to indicate payment to any rogue shinobi. Naruto narrowed his eyes, this wasn't the only office he raided but the lack of evidence was becoming much more pronounced. Looks like Gato wasn't planning on paying...

XVX

"Man, I wish something would happen. Nightshift is so borin'!" A mercenary exclaimed. He was rewarded with a slap to the back of the head. "Hey! What was that for?!" He screamed at another mercenary with scars on his arms. "Do not jinx us mate, I have been on enough guard details for enough people to know that type of line always brings trouble," the scarred man said.

The first mercenary glared at him with squinted eyes. "Name three," he challenged. The first mercenary went bug-eyed when the scarred man reached into his pocket and retrieved a journal. "Alphabetical or any will do?" His partner's silence was the answer he needed. He opened the book and opened to a random page. "Acturus Mengsk, Dr. Doom, King-." A explosion from the manor cut him off. His eye twitched and he jotted down a new name in his book. He looked at the stunned mercenary in front of him and asked, "Happy now you ass?"

XVX

New invoices were added for a stone mason and multiple weapon shops days later after the destruction of the manor armory.

XVX

Momochi Hideout, four days after the bombing, sixteen days since the arrival of Team Seven

Haku was brushing the fur of the pet indoor rabbit softly with one delicate hand as Zabuza stared at a folder sitting on his lap with both mild heat and curiosity from his bed. What his subordinate brought him was as intriguing as it was infuriating to a battle hardened killer, an offer of truce/recruitment from the leaf shinobi.

_(Flashback!)_

Earlier that day

Haku was staring at the intimidating older shinobi from before, the one that had Zabuza on the ropes in their first encounter. Itachi Uchiha. It was just a simple day of gathering herbs dressed as a civilian and nothing else till this man virtually blinked into existence in front of Haku at the small grove. Haku was tense for a good reason, there weren't any stun grenades hidden in the kimono this time unlike the battle garb Itachi had seen before now. It was deathly quiet between the two.

Itachi was the first to break the silence, "I would like you to convey a message to your master if you are willing to, _hunter_." Haku carefully glared at Itachi, how did he know? "What is it you like to have conveyed?" Haku replied as calm as possible given the situation.

"It has come to our attention that Gato is not intending to hold up whatever end of the bargain he has on this end. So knowing this I would like to present two choices to you. Choice one, you two would leave our client alone and leave Wave country when you are able to for the time being. Choice two, you two could join us at Konoha and end the real hunter shinobi in their quest to end your lives. To be honest though I prefer the second option, either choice is suitable for my team."

Haku glared at him suspiciously, "Those are generous terms, but I honestly doubt the claim that Gato will not pay us for our services."

Itachi nodded. It proved more than acceptance of the claim of doubt as the edge of a folder materialized in the corner of Haku's line of sight. Tensely, Haku turned to see a vanilla folder being held up by a armored hand. A lone eye managed to see back to the end of the gauntlet and barely a shoulder covered in dark leather, but that was it in favor of getting out with little provocation that further details were not gleaned.

Haku grabbed the folder and carefully placed it in the kimono, while coolly glancing up at a dark clad shinobi walking past and stopping a few feet away from Itachi. Said boy bowed and said curtly, "Hopefully we don't have to fight, have a nice day madam." Haku leveled amused gaze at the bandana wearing shinobi and smiled playfully, "I think the proper term would be 'sir,' but I thank you all the same." Haku gave them a polite bow with a smile and body before retreating into the forest, leaving Itachi to marvel the deadpanned expression on Naruto.

"Please tell me she wasn't joking, Itachi-sensei..." Naruto quietly asked. It took Itachi's entire conscious being to suppress a growing smirk on his face. "Why Naruto," he calmly said, "I thought you weren't into relationships, though I never suspected you'd be interested in men." Naruto started to gag and sunk to his knees as Itachi took that moment to walk away with a grin on his face.

"Anko was right, messing with Naruto _is_ fun," Itachi thought.

It took Naruto days to recover from that jab.

_(End Flashback!)_

Zabuza went through the folder once more. No notes, no transactions, no accounts, or anything to indicate a prepared payment for them. In the folder were documents stolen from Gato's offices, and the warning from the leaf shinobi, it looked like Gato wasn't going to hold up his end. True, it could be that he doubt they would succeed given recent trouble... but it was a matter of courtesy to make an effort to indicate a method of payment.

The demon of the mist stood at a cross roads. One option is he could complete the job for a shady business man with a less than impeccable reputation, working for men like him always ran with risks. A second option was he could just leave, but as Haku mentioned, they would have to deal with the ever present threat of hunter shinobi from every known village. Then there was the third, work for a village; though the hunt for him and Haku could be called off, or at least lessened, by joining a village, he still had his dream. But was it worth it?

He leaned against the wall and rubbed a hand through his hair. He wanted to be Mizukage, the leader of Kiri, of the Village hidden in the Mist; yet it was a question between risk and reward. After his failed coup, Zabuza was forced to become a rogue shinobi with his 'apprentice' and had to bounce town from town looking for work to raise funds so he could try a second coup. Yet like anything worth doing, it was not easy. Gato was promising a big payout, though it wasn't a goldmine compared to a village's pay. If he joined another village, he could be signing his own death warrant if he choose to up and leave it as well; it was not a conducive activity, betraying multiple villages, for one's health. He doubted he would see the chance to become Mizukage if he signed up with anyone.

It brought an old idiom to mind, 'nothing worth doing is ever easy.' Zabuza glanced at Haku and mentally scoffed. Unlike him, Haku was not a shinobi as far as a village is concerned. His one companion in all this... was the heavy risk of death and failure worth being a rogue?

Zabuza leveled a weary lone eye at his subordinate. "Haku." The younger of the two looked up at him expectantly for some kind of answer in all this. "What do you think?" Zabuza asked tiredly.

**A/N: Yes! I am evil enough to leave on a deliberate cliffhanger! (Cackles!)**

**If you're wondering about the mercenary part, I was bored. That and I thought it would be kind of fun to have a mercenary that worked for several evil characters that did not really end well for him.**

**As for the Itachi with Naruto part in regards of Haku, thought Itachi deserved a shot at him. Seemed fair that I did that with Anko. I also thought I should finally settle the whole "Sakura is afraid of Naruto" thing with a brief explanation.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds. Doubly so on cliffhangers.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 7: The idle month of May, Part 2

Training ground ten, Konoha, twenty days since Team Seven's arrival into Wave

It was fairly surprising to find her sensei so accepting of a temporary leave from his teachings to pursue... other interests. Of course she had to endure the heart-felt goodbyes and speeches of "youth!" but it was easier than she expected. Tenten's only real issue, if any, was Neji's cold indifference to it. As long as she showed up for missions, there weren't any real issues... aside from the green beastly duo trying to rope her into their training/teaching sessions.

Now that she thought about it, Might Guy's methods of training was far more easy for her to endure... and more likely to survive. She clutched her bleeding arm gingerly. Her teacher... was nothing like Might Guy. She way she moved, the way she swung her swords, even when she attacked Tenten in the most savage of blows, it was like a morbidly beautiful dance of death. A dance she wanted to know.

Tenten spat out a hefty wad of blood to the side. Her teacher watched on with a detached grace as she stared her students prone force. Might Guy did not deliberately hit a vital point, or break an bone or two while training with someone by personal choice. But she wasn't Might Guy.

The blond haired woman smiled surreally when Tenten forgone her injured arm and picked up a fallen sword on the ground with her good limb. Tenten was improving in her eyes, though not by much. It was something at least.

XVX

Konoha Hospital, night

A pair of brown eyes cracked open to spy on the dimly light ceiling that was her room. Tenten was becoming more and more familiar with the hospital's ceilings since the beginning of the month. She sighed as she recalled the steps her teacher was making her go through.

Combat, infiltration, stealth, and tracking. She groaned, combat was brutal and always stopped short of death of permanent injury, namely the cutting off of a limb or something equally serious. Infiltration was always varied; when the spars were light it was a guarantee that she was going to be sent into someplace with a considerable amount of security with the use of chakra being forbidden. When the spars were heavy... she was sent here. "There are differing methods to enter a place with little suspicion or detection," was the only answer Tenten got when she garnered the courage to call her out on this. It was almost unreal in how she dismissed the young Bell.

Stealth. She was to escape the hospital without anyone other than her teacher knowing about it. A feet only Naruto could perform if the rumors were true. Escaping the hospital without detection, and that he was being trained by someone else. It would explain his seemingly unreal knowledge of firearms when Konoha didn't have anyone who specialized in them.

She narrowed her chocolate orbs. Could it be that Tenten was not the first student of-. No. Her teacher practically forced her to only use swords as her art and experience demanded of her. There was someone else in the village, someone as skilled as her teacher, yet opposite in her style. Someone as skilled as Kira Blanc.

XVX

Tazuna's home, evening, twenty-four days since Team Seven's arrival

The tension was so thick it could be cut by a dull knife. Shikamaru had a fire in his eyes that Asuma never seen before! It did not help that Naruto had the exact same fire in his own eyes as the two glared at each other intensely. Down the hall Tsunami, grown daughter of their employer, was coming towards them with a tray of snacks. Each step had the effect of a giant stomping towards. It was almost too much!

"Make your move..." Shikamaru intoned. Naruto rose a fist, only to slam it down as soon as it came to their eye level. Choji in a corner chewed on his finger nails nervously. It was close! It could possibly mean-.

"Checkmate," Shikamaru said without a hint of humor. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "Care to explain that, Shikamaru?" He asked seriously. Without breaking eye contact, Shikamaru pointed at a Shogi piece on the board. "You forgot the Bishop."

Naruto's brow twitched. Meanwhile Itachi tallied on a board. The board held the number of times of Shogi that was played by Shikamaru against everyone in the house. Sadly no one has defeated him yet. And the board was running out of room since they were forced to cross over to the defeat section of the board... even then they were running out of room.

XVX

Grove, Wave country forest, twenty-six days since arrival

Itachi practiced what became a ritual of sorts for the past week. Standing alone, either in person or by shadow clone, in the grove where Haku was encountered. He had to repress the urge to giggle at Naruto's dismay at the jab towards his sexuality each and every time he came here. Yet after fighting off the urge to revel in the young boy's momentary shock, he frowned. It was one thing to not answer in the first couple of days, and he was bound to have been spotted by the young _alleged_ man since he began this unofficial ritual. Perhaps Zabuza was going to risk betrayal at the hands of Gato after all in the unlikely event that he should succeed.

Shame. He was hoping to end this without unnecessary bloodshed, or rather avoidable bloodshed. Still, it was roughly ten o'clock in the morning meaning they still had at least a few more hours till he retires for the day. It would be rude of him to not give them an ample opportunity to make an answer known.

But from what everyone managed to gather, time was running short. Gato was gathering up every thug, mercenary, even street gangster he could buy off into a small army compared to his current forces on the island. Should worst come to worst, he would get his answer one way or another.

XVX

Tazuna's home, evening

It was another day without anything to note for the shinobi team as a whole save for the indication that Gato was going to make his move in the near future of the next two-to-three days. All they could do for the time being was plan for the events that have a strong likelihood of happening: Gato's army storming the bridge from the land, a water assault from the same man, the rogue shinobi attacking before, during, or after the arrival of said army. There were many variables to account for, with Zabuza's presence being the most prominent. There was no telling what the man was thinking, and no telling what Gato would do to ensure victory; the village of Tazuna's family being held hostage were certainly factors to account for.

The plan they concocted was a rough draft at best for the time being: one team defends the builder, another team defends the town, and one defends the client's home at least till whatever threat has been verified and/or dealt with should there even be one. The question now was who did what. For the time being it would seem the elder shinobi would go to the bridge, especially if Zabuza did decide to stay with Gato. Their combined experience and power should be adequate to handle the rogue shinobi and his partner equally, or at least delay them long enough for the bridge builder to escape. It was almost decided that the Genin of Team Ten would defend the village, but there was one unspoken question amongst the more serious half of the shinobi; where would Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno be placed? Naruto was more than capable of defending Tazuna's family by himself, especially with a few traps prepared beforehand, so the idea of the other two members of Team Seven joining Team Ten was being contemplated. Sakura unfortunately lacked much in the desired traits of a kunoichi despite improvement, hence the idea of her in a group with relatively less expectation of partaking in a life or death struggle. Sasuke however...

He sought solitude and had little regard for other allied shinobi. A fight between Choji and Sasuke served to prove that. According to Shikamaru, the fight broke out when Choji called the younger Uchiha out on his lack of action when Team Seven was attacked. It started as a high-pitched argument that exploded when Sasuke was compared to Naruto. Shikamaru had to use his Shadow Possession abilities to restrain the two when Sasuke drew a kunai, and Choji threw a fist out of reflex to the addition of a weapon. No blood was spilt, but that did not mean it was to be overlooked.

Sasuke has taken to glaring at the huskier shinobi and even Naruto, despite that it was not new or he was not part of the argument altogether outside the spoken word, whenever he spotted either and taken to avoiding them. Even to going to bed earlier than normal. Yet during this time it was concluded that it is all but guaranteed that the boy was going to be a part of the bridge battle if they didn't do anything short of nailing him to a wall.

Itachi groaned and rubbed his eyes as they continued to discuss the battle plan. It was almost ironic for him, their father could not understand him when Itachi got older and now it was almost the exact same situation with him and his little brother sans the violence. The one thing he could say with certainty was that Sasuke was desperately trying to prove himself the better shinobi with no regard of the consequences. Any hope of Team Seven partaking in the Chunin Exams should it come to that bridge was growing ever bleaker.

Up above, but beneath a need for concern, was the observing grandson of their client. Inari was in a turmoil of emotions that was constantly being battled over by the forces of skepticism and hope. Though he constantly had his doubts since the person he considered a father died, he had a strange surge of hope starting to well up inside him. It happened shortly when Team Seven arrived, right after he confronted the Team with his belief that they couldn't win against Gato. He had no real idea what would happen when he did it, but he was sure he wasn't expecting their reaction to his point of view. Sasuke and Sakura scowled at him for differing reasons, not that he knew that. Itachi only spared him enough attention to let him know that he was listening, but did and said nothing in return as he sat at the table writing something down on a piece of parchment. Naruto promptly ignored him in favor of dismantling a bulky rifle to clean.

He still remembered what the bandana wearing blond said to him when Inari chose to shout in his ear about his opinion. "Do you honestly think I care about your thoughts?" The blond never even looked at him as he put the last piece of his rifle to rest on the table. "We decided to commit to this mission, come hell or high water. Life or death, we will see to it that this mission ends regardless of what you think of us. People live and die, that is the cycle of life no matter how much we oppose it. What we choose to do while we're alive is all that matters to me."

Not once did the blond look at him during the whole ordeal. Here to do the job regardless of what people think of him... In a way Inari was reminded of his surrogate father through the shinobi's statement.

Then came a knock on the front door. Inari worriedly stared at the door. His grandfather was in his own room resting for the upcoming day, and his mother was in the kitchen getting the leaf shinobi refreshments. Ever since Gato came, no one bothered anyone else unless it was discreetly preplanned to avoid being confused as Gato's thugs. Either there was an emergency or... It would seem the leader of Team Seven was going to find out.

XVX

Itachi stared him straight in the eye with his hand never leaving the door knob. In front of Itachi was a fully healed, give or take given the light bandaging around his ribs, Zabuza Momochi staring right back with a latent fierceness ready to be released at a blink of the eye. From what the elder Uchiha could see without leaving Zabuza's eyes, Haku was not too far behind Zabuza. Probably to provide support if whatever Zabuza had planned went south on him.

By a diminutive fraction, they widened when he heard the last thing he expected from the man with a bloody history to him. "Can you really get us to be a part of Konoha?"

**A/N: Short chapter by relativity, but gets the job done! To you people wondering about another assassin training someone other than Naruto, I'm evil enough to make deliberate cliffhangers, but not evil enough to overpower the renown knuckle-head ninja to near god-like degrees. There must be limits I say!**

**Shogi match was for random fun. And yes, Japanese styled chess has bishops, at least according to Wikipedia.**

**Next time of Assassin... you'll have to read to find out! (Dun, dun, dun! Gives myself a point in being evil.)**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**To E E Merica: I'm still counting that as a break in your code. Mainly because I'm evil like that. (Cackles!)**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 8: Changes

Tazuna's bridge

"The modern shinobi, hired killers, mercenaries, people using abilities that attract attention more than hide from it. They are not worth being associated with assassins," a lone voice echoed in Naruto's mind.

"No matter what ideals they fight for," the boy watched on from the forest at the scene before him, "Assassins do not step into the light. When they do, it's because there isn't another option."

A miniature body with a fist sized hole in its chest sailed through a crowd of men armed to the teeth with various weapons of death. The ones that could avoid it did, the ones that couldn't were either knocked aside with enough force to pass through steel or were carried with it without hope of impeding the sheer momentum that applied to the corpse.

"When an assassin acts, it is as quick as lighting." Every goon made aware of what happened gawked with bug eyes and jaws stretched as wide as humanly possible. "But it has the effect of a hurricane." The body of Gato and two thugs were lost as gravity finally ensnared its jaws on the trio when they no longer had wood, steel, or even concrete to represent the ground. Living or dead, the sea beneath the incomplete bridge became their tomb without a word uttered. No one heard the shot that marked the end of a short lived assault.

"Assassins, we might not have the might of an army, but we can change the course of war in the blink of an eye." Naruto didn't let his eye leave the scope as he chambered another round into the only physical gift bequeathed to him, even though it was not the original but a very well made replica. A weapon aptly named for what it did. The Exitus Rifle, a one way ticket to send souls of his enemies to another realm.

Below, the mercenaries were getting nervous. Their boss was just killed, and whatever or whoever killed him could take them out in group if the velocity a small man's corpse was an indicator... it was further enforced by the groans, whelps, and gasps of pain from the injured tossed aside like ragdolls by the homunculus cannonball. Unbeknownst of the growingly worried horde of hired muscle, the three Jonin/Anbu level that were there their opponents spared a glance at the forest behind them.

Zabuza wasn't sure what to think. Was it the bandana covered blond that struck such a heavy handed blow? It was a good strategy, though he wouldn't have minded the fighting. Now the mercenaries were becoming more and more skittish as time progressed. He scowled a little when a mercenary with a larger set of stones than his comrades just lost his head the minute he started to rally the others. Two more mercenaries behind the now headless mercenary suffered as well. One was too shocked to say anything as he now clutched a stump that stopped just beneath the shoulder, and the second one was slammed to the ground screaming. Where he was hit, Zabuza couldn't tell, just imagined where he was hit; given the angle, he had to assume it was in the region of the chest. It was obvious that Naruto was keeping the horde of bodies from getting organized through terror; he couldn't help but grin a little when he realized it.

Asuma was blanching. He was sure Itachi didn't teach Naruto to be ruthless, and unfortunately he knew that sometimes you had to be ruthless to keep a fight from ending in a unfavorable way. His soul solace was it seemed Naruto was willing to let them leave now that the horde was retreating back to the boat that brought them here. At least Naruto knew restraint.

Itachi had similar thoughts as he observed the retreating horde that left their dead behind. But his line of thought was more on the grounds of what was Naruto using? An AGR-14 didn't have that firepower, let alone range. It was probably best not to pry for now considering his little brother. If one shot could decapitate a person, if one bullet could rip a man's arm off, he was sure his little brother's obsession to be superior would lead to him trying to steal this unknown weapon.

A foul taste run amok in his mouth. Ultimately he didn't want to do it. Yet Sasuke just wouldn't stop his current course of actions if he knew his brother as well as he hoped he did.

XVX

Fourteen days later, completed bridge of Wave country

For a week, the entire country of Wave spent a significant amount of resources bolstered by Gato's former possessions that were left behind in celebration. There were no signs of pain, grief, anger, or disapproval from anyone for a whole week; sake amongst other liquors tend to do that to partiers. Especially if partiers included certain shinobi that their guardians failed to protect because they were on the sauce themselves. In Sasuke's case it was more deliberate to prevent him from acting out, not that he cared if he knew after the fifth cup of sake. In the eyes of Konoha, with exception to Haku by a loophole, they were adults by their graduation thus permitted to drink but they were still kids in actual age...

Zabuza later came to regret getting wasted, and it had nothing to do with a hangover. Not by majority at least. Unfortunately he could not stop the train now that it left the station. Was good sake though...

Despite having a letter of recruitment and amnesty from the Hokage himself safely tucked away into his pocket, he was still in a sour mood since its incursion in the aftermath of the partying where the birdge was finally being finished. And still boring holes at the back of the bandana blonds' head. If kid noticed this since they started to cross the bridge, he made no effort to acknowledge it in favor of avoiding the gaze of Haku by hiding behind Choji. It also helped that Haku was at the front and he was near the rear.

A sympathetic Asuma was almost dragging the soulless possible corpse that was Ino Yamanaka with the aid of Shikamaru, who was quietly cursing the same blond that was the focus of Zabuza's ire for making him do work. Not that Naruto blamed either party.

As for Ino, her tear ducts long since stopped producing tears since she learned that she had a new rival to the small collection fighting for Naruto's heart. And her name was Haku... the thief of Naruto's first time. Her mind quietly cursed whomever invented the brew known as sake... why couldn't Haku avoid the drink and continue pretending to be a boy?!

Neither of the parties, Haku and Naruto, really spoke to each other since waking up in the same bed with a splotch of blood between them. Even as a soulless corpse mimic, Ino growled at Haku when she spotted the fake boy blushing, and wanted to break into tears when she spotted her crush blushing.

Itachi however cared little for the... problems of his group for the time being. His attention was on his little brother who had taken the furthest point from them, whom he counted himself lucky that his younger brother did not learn much of the bridge battle. Like Itachi, Sasuke cared not for the troubles of their group, but for entirely different reasons. He was brooding in his own little world.

Zabuza Momochi and Haku Momochi, adoptive daughter of Zabuza by the extensive time they spent together, their enemies were in their grasp. They had ample opportunity to strike them down at the Tazuna household, yet his brother and Team Ten's sensei let them be because they "were not their enemies" according to the duo. To add insult to injury, he was duped into thinking there was a significant force heading to the town. They were found dead at the Tazuna household as he came to learn, at the hands of those two... the younger Momochi and the clanless idiot.

His knuckles were turning white. His brother was keeping him held back, he knew it! He was afraid that he, Sasuke, would steal the spotlight and be hailed as a hero as a Uchiha rightfully deserved to be called. That had to be the reason why Itachi wouldn't let them come to the bridge, let alone the house! He turned his head to spot a blushing Haku trying to look back as well under the guise of talking to Sakura. She didn't deserve the honor of joining Konoha, especially if she was possibly carrying a child of a nobody...

Itachi narrowed his eyes to slits. He may not be a mind reader, but years of being a shinobi enabled him some insight as a body reader... Sasuke was hammering in the final nail.

XVX

Later that night

Haku was sitting beneath a tree by herself as she looked up at the moon, her thoughts still running wild about the one she lost her purity to in a night neither can really remember. A blush kept creeping up her cheeks every time she spent a moment to remember, decipher, to whatever regarding that night. The most she could remember other than drinking for the first time were soft lips... his lips on her own. Her heart kicked up a notch as blood surged through her entire body.

It was strange that two responsible, or at least relatively responsible, shinobi would find themselves enjoying sake on the grounds of "what could happen?" Her cheeks became a burning crimson, neither contemplated that as a result apparently. Now the two can barely walk be into the same room without trying to hide from the other. A hand caressed her lips and her heart raced once more. No matter what, should could not command herself long enough to find a way to quash the unknown feelings that were burning for the normally serious shinobi.

She leaned back onto the tree and rested her eyes. Perhaps a good night's sleep would be the step in the right direction to confront her perceived problems. Not once did she notice the looming presence sitting on the branch right above her the whole time.

XVX

Haku awoke in dire panic when a pair of hands seized her neck and began to crush it in all the rage that could be channeled into the act. Her hands clawed at the offending appendages out of pure instinct as her now wide eyes hunted down her attacker. If her life wasn't in danger, she would've froze at the manic look of a furious Sasuke Uchiha as he snarled at her. And the details were quickly fading as the already dark world was becoming much darker. Both limbs fell to her side uselessly when consciousness was no longer a luxury she could enjoy. In essence, it protected her from what came next.

A crack of thunder of bodily origin amongst the silence of the night. "_Crack!_"

Sasuke stood victoriously over the dead form of Haku Momochi with a feral grin. His own mind praising him as a unsung hero of Konoha for keeping Naruto from despoiling a perfectly good bloodline. There was no way he was going to accept second best in his shadow, nor anyone's shadow for that matter! With the loss of his love interest, the blond was bound to fall from grace in turmoil and-!

A new sound roared across the silent forest. One he became fairly familiar of in the past month. "_Poof!_"

He stared in his own horror as 'Haku Momochi' disappeared in a cloud of smoke. This was not happening...

He turned to flee when he bumped into a tall shadowed figure amongst the darkness. He looked up in abject terror when he saw a blazing pair of sharingan eyes staring straight at him. That was the last thing he seen.

XVX

Dawn forced Haku to wake from the peaceful world of sleep. She clutched the bedroll in startled fright when she realized she was not under the tree last night. A quick glance around the camp put her to ease. Aside from the two Uchihas, everyone was minding their own business. Her more or less adoptive father was still trying to set Naruto on fire with the power of his glare. Naruto was losing another game of Shogi to Shikamaru, who may be grinning at this. Ino was glaring at her, and their remaining group members that could be accounted for were cloud watching. Or sleeping, she wasn't able to tell from her spot.

She quirked an eyebrow up when she finally spotted Itachi coming out of the woodwork with something draped like a dead animal over his shoulder. "Why is Sasuke Uchiha being carried like that?" She curiously thought.

Hours later, Naruto Uzumaki fell down a few rungs on Zabuza's glare list.

XVX

Hokage's office, Hokage tower, two days since Wave Country

Sasuke still out of it courtesy of Itachi as they were still in the office, now joined by their mother/clan head Mikoto Uchiha. Teams Seven and Ten, as well as the Momochi family, have already been dismissed with the latter under probationary watch by Anbu. The aged man was smoking on his worn pipe grimly as Itachi was retelling what he told the elderly man to his newly arrived mother about Sasuke.

If Sasuke's actions during and after the mission wasn't heartbreaking enough for their mother, the next thing to leave Itachi's mouth was devastating, "I wish to have Sasuke banned from the shinobi program."

The Hokage closed his eyes and sighed. He sided with Itachi regarding the unstable boy. What gave him pause however was the fact that Mikoto was here, and as clan head she could cause trouble should she side against him. True, authority over shinobi resided with the Hokage, but the council composing of civilians and shinobi clan heads were powerful enough to wreck havoc over certain decisions such as going to or staying out of war. Sasuke being the blood son of one of the members of the council made him... troublesome. The Hokage would not hesitate to pulling him out if he was going to willingly endanger fellow shinobi or incite deadly battles where there is no need, but if Itachi could convince her mother to at least acknowledge the problems the boy was causing then to a degree everyone sans Sasuke wins.

Hiruzen observed the quivering form of the Uchiha mother. He could understand what she was going through, he did view Orochimaru like a son himself. Dealing a harsh blow to a family member when they deserve it took a type of iron built up over the years, even then it was not guaranteed. He could only hope that Mikoto won't make the same mistake he did when he saw the warnings.

Meanwhile said woman was looking at her clenched hands. It was her sons dream to be a shinobi of great caliber... she didn't want to hinder him. Yet Itachi... he was not one to lie when he thinks there is a serious problem, and will most likely side against her to protect his fellow shinobi. A sad smile adorned her features. She was a kunoichi herself one time. If you didn't stand for anyone, then no one will stand for you.

It was to a degree what the village stood for when the first Hokage built it.

She bowed her head and released a pent up, body shaking sigh. "I accept your proposal, Itachi."

She sorrowfully look at her youngest son, with tears glistening in her eyes.

XVX

Meanwhile, Ichiraku Ramen stand

Naruto wasn't too surprised to find Hinata lying in wait to ambush him at the only haunt he is known for after he gave Ino the slip. It was refreshing to walk through the familiar streets and finding a familiar set of aces to greet him. He could do without being forced to endure what might have been a carefully planned speech on how life has been for Hinata and her team though.

His mind kept drifting back towards the Hokage's office where the Uchiha brothers were, or was if the case may be, during the whole conversation and couldn't help but wonder about the reasoning why Itachi had kept Sasuke under a genjustsu for the past two days. Obviously Sasuke did something, but whatever happened was not a subject Itachi would share with anyone. The only clue he had was that Zabuza had grown significantly less... gruff around him. Not that he blamed him considering... the dark shinobi blushed and focused on his ramen. Both acts easily catching the attention of the Hyuga heiress.

She couldn't help but ponder what could illicit such a reaction. Surely her talking about Team Eight's training regime couldn't lead to something perverse... unless there was some kind of awkward moment for Team Seven during their mission. Could it be? Did it involve his teammate Sakura? Surely she had eyes only for Sasuke, did she not? Her mind was whirling as she contemplated various scenarios that could have had a sexual entanglement or theme to it, and her cheeks were heating up to a very bright red.

There was only one way to find out! Tenten was already a bad enough competitor for Naruto's nonexistent affection! And Ino... it was a give or take situation with her considering her training, or lack thereof that Asuma was most likely trying to fix. She first quashed her blush and inhaled a deep breath. "Courage!" Hinata thought to herself. "So how was your mission, Naruto?" She asked politely.

Naruto downed the last of his fourth bowl of ramen and signal Ayame for another one before turning his full attention onto the smiling girl. "It was suppose to be a simple C-rank missions, and for awhile it seemed that way till we arrived..."

XVX

One bowl and twenty-seven minutes later found one Hinata Hyuga in a position of intrigue and confusion as she left the stand after bidding Naruto farewell. It was interesting to hear that a rogue shinobi, Zabuza Momochi, sent to kill the client that paid for protection against bandits and the like suddenly joining Konoha with his apprentice/adoptive daughter who was posing as a boy. But she was still confused as to what caused Naruto to blush of all things. Whatever happened to cause it was after the mission, that was the only reasonable conclusion she come to.

At least she no longer had to worry about Sakura being a rival, at least for now should the blond of her affection sought someone to give his heart to. But now she had two suspects for that trade off. Ino Yamanaka, and Haku Momochi. Her brow creased, the prospect of a new face did not bode well for her. Perhaps she should seek out Ino, if she was lucky then it was a close proximity contact thing with the other blond that was the cause of the relative upset of Naruto. Now to find...

Correction, now to talk to Ino. Without realizing it, Hinata came across a sulking Ino on a park bench overlooking a lake. She adopted a pleasant smile, hopefully it was nothing serious...

"Hello Ino, how're you today?" She asked pleasantly enough, stealing the Yamanaka out of her brooding session with a start. "Huh? Oh, hello Hinata! I didn't see you there! How're you?" Ino practically yelled with shaky glee. Hinata just kept smiling as she replied, "I'm fine. I just noticed you were sort of in a slump there..." She half lied, she was more interested in learning more about the mission but there was such a thing as being considerate.

Immediately Ino's mood darkened, and she angerly looked out to the lake. "Yeah..." She growled, "It's nice to know that a slut would be joining one of the Genin teams soon. I just hope she isn't on Naruto's team..." Both eyebrows on Hinata's person nearly shot off her body as she gawked at Ino. The last time she ever talked like that was back at the academy after defending Naruto's honor when he wasn't around to hear the insult, let alone calm down Ino.

"E-excuse me? Slut? What?" Hinata couldn't really form a proper question, she was just too perturbed by Ino's mood swing. Ino growled once again, her teeth grinding against each other as she spat out her reason of grief, "Haku Momochi. She got dear Naruto drunk one night and took advantage of him, I know it! And now she's here in Konoha awaiting to be assigned a Genin squad to work in. She's probably hoping to bed Naruto once again to get his undeserving protection and love when he should be with me!" She hunched over and began bawling her eyes out. "I should be the one Naruto woke up to in that bed! It should be my heart he wants to beat with his!"

The last part was lost to Hinata as her mind was still processing what Ino said... "Naruto... and... Haku... slept... together..." Hinata Hyuga, former shy girl of Konoha shinobi academy, did what she hadn't done in years. She feinted.

XVX

Konoha streets, seven-twenty-four p.m.

Dusk was turning into night fairly quickly, but Naruto didn't mind. All he wanted to do now was go home, shower, sleep, and find out what was going on between Itachi and Sasuke after the crack of dawn tomorrow. It was always a solitary trek to his home, especially when one avoided the attention and detection of some kind... at least by shinobi. Someone was setting his senses off and he had no clue as to the identity or type of threat that was possibly tailing him.

His hand casually strayed to the butt of the sole pistol he strapped to his leg since the first attack during the Wave mission. Rooftops were clear. The street only had a handful of people shuffling to destinations that only concerned them. The only conceivable place to hide were in the ever darkening alleyways. Sadly his stalker did not favor stealth of that kind. A blur of a person was all that could be see when someone tackled him into a wall of one of the alleys.

Naruto threw a punch at the shadowed being, it was caught and twisted away from both him and his attacker. He attempted to slam a knee into his assailant, but a upraised shin blocked it. Naruto folded his arm and swung it hoping the elbow could find purchase or distract his opponent. An arm lanced out and clutched his shoulder before the elbow had a chance to slam into his enemies' face.

Before Naruto could lash out once more, his opponent did something no one would expect in his situation. His attacker kissed him. Kissed. Him. Right. On. The. Lips.

Time seemed to stop as the two were lip locked. A heartbeat, pin dropping, or even Might Guy proclaiming the power of youth could not have the power to break the silence that was in the moment. When the figure finally freed Naruto's lips, she spoke for the first time. "I've missed you, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened to their humane limits. He _knew_ that voice. He blinked and stared at the person before him...

There, pinning him to the wall with a shameless smile on her face, was Tenten Bell.

**A/N: Twist! Twas another product of my self proclaimed evil mind! I already decided that in this story Haku was a woman, but the bedding part was not till I started writing the chapter before last.**

**And I would like to give thanks to E E Merica for inadvertently giving me the perfect scene to another twist which you Sasuke haters probably loved. At first I was kind of insulted that you thought I would kill them off, but I changed that into my advantage!**

**And I may as well get this out in the open, I don't really have anything against Sasuke, but unfortunately I have read a fairly large number of other people's works where Sasuke is that one person you don't care if you get arrested for murder for killing. This story's Sasuke is mainly to get out my version of fair share of Sasuke bashing.**

**Monkeybandit2, making of with your attention! No refunds. Especially not you E E! (Cackles!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**To Sevenar: Already went through both your questions that in chapter four, if thirty-seven (37!) people do not qualify as a massacre, then you have deprived every news organization of a word to use to describe the death of many people, let alone became the highest priority to every nut with a dictionary! It was mentioned in the meeting room scene, as for Sasuke, when Itachi was at the training ground by himself reading about and contemplating psyche.**

**But I'll give a more detailed explanation since you asked, Sasuke has been pushed to be the best by his father with high minded ideals about the Uchiha clan. He cannot tolerate being outdone by anyone because that would mean that a Uchiha is not the best of the best. He is so driven by it that he cannot contemplate of a more tactful approach. It's pride at its worst. He would do anything to come out on top. If you cannot, more specifically anyone who cannot, understand- pride to its extremes is a lot like anger when pushed to the extreme. You see only one way to end a situation, and painted in their respective color, it looks pretty much like the BEST idea in the world at the time.**

**Trooper0007: Allow me to answer your question with another, do they have a reason not to be in Konoha? Say I made Itachi the killer, do you honestly expect him to stay in Konoha as a ninja (saving shinobi/kunoichi for stories only) considering his personality?**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 9: The aftermath of change

Naruto's apartment

Naruto was looking up at the ceiling with a blank expression from his bed. His mind was still processing what happened moments before; Tenten had, give or take, successfully ambushed him when he wasn't distracted and kissed him. Then seemingly as fast as she appeared, she melted into the shadows of the darkening dusky world with that smile on her face. The kiss wasn't what was bothering him though.

It was how she caught him. The evaded his senses to enough of a degree to keep him from stopping her assault. She succeeded in blocking his counter attack before he recognized her in a adrenaline fueled defense. And to top it off she escaped without leaving a sign of her presence behind... shinobi training was one thing, but they leave minutes amount of chakra before, during, and after any events. It was a matter of learning how to detect it. Tenten was concealing hers, just like he did.

Someone trained her... and it wasn't him. A master of stealth and expert of firearms, he was not a master of a hand-to-hand confrontation of that degree. Could it be his past came to affect this world? Naruto shuddered.

He wasn't sure he'd be up to par should push come to shove.

XVX

Bell Weaponry, Tenten's room

Tenten stared contently at her reflection on the mirror as she was combing her loose hair before reacquainting herself with her bed. But she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep well tonight, her mind was reeling in ecstasy of what she had accomplished. She had locked lips with the object of her affection, and proven herself capable of feats that would've required a preexisting condition to accomplish. She could now surprise the blond by herself.

She quivered as thoughts run wild in her mind of them being in more intimate positions before the blond could maneuver out of position like in some of those spars she seen Naruto and Hinata get into. "Hinata, eat your heart out," Tenten set aloud. The future was looking much brighter for her.

XVX

Dango stand

The future looked much bleaker to her. Hinata was deaf to the consolation of her Jonin sensei as she stared lifelessly at the wood that made up the stand's counter. How could she compete with someone who gave her heart's desire their body? She broke into a fresh crop of tears.

Kurenai was at a loss in what to do. She was minding her own business when she chanced upon her sole female out cold nearby a on the ground by a bench overlooking a nearby lake. When she coaxed her student back to the land of consciousness, Hinata did nothing but stare blankly and occasionally weep without provocation save for the heart choked mutterings involving Naruto and some other woman. She never really knew Naruto personally, so she could not draw much of a opinion on him. The most of what she knew of the mysterious bandana wearing blond outside of Anko's casual conversations of him was that her student Hinata had her heart set on him even though her never returned her feelings. Not in the same way at least.

She sighed and rubbed Hinata's back with a free hand as she rested her head on the other. They have been here for about thirty minutes waiting for Anko to eventually show up. It was a lucky break in a way, she and Anko always get together at night to share stories. If she knew Anko, she was bound to come across some topic involving her blond friend that she would more than happily divulge if given the right prompting.

Kurenai looked up at the clock on the stand's wall, it was Eight-forty-seven at night. Sooner or later she legendary snake mistress of Konoha was going to slip into her favorite haunt. She did not disappoint. Right before Hinata bawled out her heart anew, Anko strolled in with the biggest grin on her face to date. "The grapevine of the shinobi community must have bore sizable fruit tonight," Kurenai thought. She turned to her crying student with a small frown, "Not that everyone enjoys such bounty."

Anko joined in with Anko's displeasure, but more out of confusion than genuine care. Outside of Naruto, and by extension Tenten on occasion, she didn't really hang around anyone of the Genin rank.

She quickly dismissed the weeping girl and claimed her spot at the Dango stand stool next to Kurenai with a grin. "You would not believe what kind of news that came into town today!" She happily announced over the dying sobs.

Her friend frowned and made a overly obvious glance towards Hinata's prone form, now laying her hands and head in a stacked piled on the counter. Anko took a quick glance at the quiet girl and suppressed a heavy sigh. She leaned over to Kurenai and whispers into her ear, "She's one of those girls who are after Naruto right?" Kurenai solemnly nodded back. Anko gave the girl another glance and sighed. She didn't bother with any form of discretion, "Well then judging from her appereance I'd say she already heard one of the juiciest bits of gossip floating around. Here's the long short of it, Team Seven and Ten managed to recruit Zabuza Momochi-." Kurenai gasped and interrupted without meaning to, "The Demon of the mist?"

Anko grinned a little viciously. "Yeah, the one and only. Now he's a Jonin here under probation. So C-rank missions unless given otherwise for him at the moment. Anyway, apparently he has a adopted daughter. Word is that when Team Seven and Ten completed their mission, the town they were staying at had this huge party that lasted a week. Without anyone looking, the two of them got drunk and did the nasty with one another." Anko's grin got wider as Kurenai gawked with cheeks aflame and her student broke into another round of weeping and muttering.

Kurenai turned to her student and embraced her. A hand combed through Hinata's hair as sweet, partially motherly tones of "it's alright, let it out" was whispered into her wounded student's ear.

Anko had to bite back a groan. She came here to talk, not observe some girl pinning over someone who would most likely not come to her. Both eyes almost jump outside of their sockets, and she grinned impishly. She just thought of a plan so foul, so evil that no one can top her in getting back at the blond for all his... gags if it was put generously. No one liked being spooked by him and his sneakiness...

She wiped a hand in front of her face. Gone was the evil glare and matching grin, and in its place was a wearily sad woman who was 'empathetic' to the Hyuga heir's plight. She walked over to Hinata's unoccupied shoulder and clapped a hang on it to gain her attention. She smiled gently at the hiccupping girl staring up at her and spoke softly.

"It's never easy to hear that someone you love is with someone else. But let me tell you one little thing that me and your sensei had some experience with, alcohol tends to make someone more impulsive and unable to think straight. When they are in this state, it is not too difficult to make someone to certain things they normally would never do, such as get into bed with a complete stranger," she said with a knowing smirk aimed at a blushing Kurenai. Her saving grace was Hinata's attention was only on the purple haired woman. "Now we both know Naruto isn't interested in a relationship, but that door is now open thanks to Haku, daughter of Zabuza. He's probably thinking of how lonely he is right now, but if I know his type then he won't accept anyone who cannot prove themselves to him. He wants a fighter, someone who can be in his face! Someone who capable of even fighting off another person of his caliber! Will you stand by and let some other woman take him? Take the man _you_ want? That _you_ improved yourself for?"

For a moment Hinata didn't respond. Anko had to restrain a grin from breaking out when she could almost swear she heard gears and cogs clicking from the girl's head. Life was slowly coming back to every fiber of her body from her skin tone to her eyes. She stood a little straighter, no... she was standing up! There was a fire in her eyes and as she looked up at the snake woman with a confident smile!

Without warning, she pumped a fist in the air and shouted, "I will not back down! Even if it breaks every bone in my body, I will not give up without a fight! Thank you Anko-sensei!" She dashed out of the stand and disappeared into the darkness of night.

Kurenai blinked. "What just happened?" She asked her friend. Her answer was not what she expected. "Did she call me sensei? I kind of like that..." Anko replied in a dazed fashion.

XVX

Meanwhile, Naruto's apartment

Something dreadful has happened... he just knew it. Feeling like a bucket of ice water being dumped onto you was not a natural occurrence outside a given situation! Naruto peeked out of the shades from his window with a submachine gun...

XVX

During the same time, street of Konoha

Might Guy was once again paralyzed. Something has happened again that hadn't happened since the last day of the relatively new Genin's school year! There was only one thing he could do in this exuberant situation!

XVX

Konoha bookstore

Kakashi triumphantly waltzed out of the bookstore with _his_ Icha-Icha book, signed by the author himself! He couldn't believe his luck to find his missing book here! It was a long and vicious battle with the store owner to reclaim it, but ultimately his signature of ownership was written on the inside of the cover had won out. He didn't actually think his odd habit of doing that would actually work, but he was never so glad to be so wrong!

Kakashi just opened the book to the first page to celebrate his victory when he heard it... that wail that caused him so much grief that day... Might Guy's cry of youth!

"YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUTH!"

Rather than risking a repeat of events, Kakashi dove back into the store without noticing a cart being carted to the front of the store by one of the employees.

Sure enough it came. That hurricane force that was upon the street, blowing everything and everyone not bolted down or hanging onto dear life away! The screams, it was terrible! Kakashi flipped to the third page of the book already, their pain didn't compare to his lose of his signed copy though on that fateful day.

When he and the other patrons of the store finally looked out of the window, the wind had died down. It was safe to travel outside once more. And travel he did. When he stepped outside he couldn't help but feel the strange melancholy of knowing no one was harmed, but the world they as the knew it was destroyed... more or less. Just a few missing chairs, stands, tables, and other items that could be associated with a business.

Mournful sniffling caught his, and other people's attention when they came out of the store one by one, to a man huddled in the corner with his head to his knees. It was the employee from the store.

"Hey, what's wrong?" A book patron asked. When the man raised his head, they call gasped. Kakashi felt a pang of dread rip through his heart. The employee was crying tears of blood!

"They're gone..." Was all the employee could muster before choking on a sob. "What's gone?" Another patron asked. Not knowing what was to come.

"The latest issues..." A brief cry of sorrow jolted through him. "The latest issues," he repeated, "The latest issues fresh from the press are gone!" He wailed.

In a carefully trained voice, Kakashi asked, "Issues of what?"

"Icha-Icha!" He cried. He may as well have said the world was ending. Everyone, including Kakashi, was struck dumb. Numb to everything in the world.

One by one they fell to their knees, and as one they did the only thing a loyal fan of Jiriaya could do in this situation.

Throughout the whole of Konoha, they were heard. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

XVX

Dango stand

"Hey, did you hear something?" Anko asked before taking a bight out of favored meal.

"Hm? Hear what?" Kurenai replied back as she sipped from a saucer of sake.

"Meh... I was probably hearing things... Where was I?"

"I do believe you were talking about Haku being placed in a Genin team." Kurenai said.

"Ah, yes, that." Anko said with a bit of whimsy. "My bet is on Team Seven."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that create some kind of friction if the rumor is true about Naruto and Haku sleeping together, even if it was for only one night?" She asked inquisitively.

Anko nodded, "True, but considering Naruto maturity, and provided that I understand this Haku girl enough, Haku's maturity, they would find a way past it. Besides, it wouldn't do any good to break up the other teams for an inconvenience."

"I don't understand, break up a team?" Kurenai asked quizzically.

Anko grimaced. "It seems that Sasuke Uchiha has been... deemed unfit for duty. They got some of the seal savvy guys from the interrogation department to seal up his chakra, and his eyes as a precaution."

Kurenai frowned... "I take it that his mother didn't object to it..." She voiced somberly.

Anko smiled cheerlessly. "Yeah... The kid isn't getting anyone's support to keep him on duty. He's just so..." She couldn't find the word to express herself, but Kurenai nodded all the same. Every Jonin, regular or instructor, was made aware of the kid's mentality one way or another.

XVX

Roof across from Bell Weaponry

Tenten rested peacefully, unaware she was being watched. Her mind long since drifted off to far off shores only a dreamer could approach.

In the darkness a lone visor spied on the young girl that took Naruto by surprise. A strange sense of ambivalence coursed through him as he remembered the seen as he watched from far away. On one hand Naruto was one experience wiser of the world, and he was thankful he was alive. Strange how feelings crop up when you teach someone for a few years. On the other hand, he was disappointed that Naruto was ambushed so easily. But that could be attributed to the fact that until a few months ago, the only person who could give him grief in that element was none other than himself.

Which begged the question, who trained her? Why was she being trained? Though Tenten was effective in pinning the boy, she was sloppy in his view. She waited for Naruto to react in their encounter. The only clues that lead him to believe there was another assassin like himself was the death of the one known as Danzo and wasn't seen or heard of since.

His mind continued to reel over all the fighting styles he had seen before and after he arrived on this planet. He only drew blanks. She didn't reveal enough to have him name her style.

A cold chill swept down his spine. A hand strayed to the Exitus pistol that never left his person since the day he received it. There were only two possibilities in his mind as to the presence behind him. Neither of them good...

"It's almost poetic in a way. The students of two different methods being allies as opposed to enemies. It's almost similar to an ancient play from Terra known as Romeo & Juliet, wouldn't you agree..."

The ex-Vindicare whipped around with the gun drawn.

A sword's tip stopped an inch from ravaging his helmet, and a gun was poised to take off her head.

She smiled at him that same smile back on Calric Four when his life was supposedly ended.

"Roderick Gryphon?" She finished in a whisper.


	10. Chapter 10

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Trooper0007: Refer to chapter three to four. Draw your own conclusion and see if you are vindicated.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 10: Continuing life

Konoha, Augest fourth

In a way he was both proud of this as he was ashamed. Part of him still wished Team Seven was unaltered.

He condemned his brother to the life of civilian for the good of the village, or at least for the good of his fellow shinobi. He, nor anyone else experienced to such a life, was not surprised that Sasuke was as accepting to his punishment as a innocent man was accepting to a crime of murder. They had to restrain the boy and place him under watch after the sealing was done, and Sasuke was freed from Itacho's genjustu at long last to find his new place in life.

The pride however was not in Sasuke's perceived unjustified wrong against him, it was from the fact that it was three months since that day and the Chunin exams were fast approaching. Haku has and continues to prove to be a more effective kunoichi than Sasuke was a shinobi. Sakura was improving by leaps and bounds with encouragement from the more experienced female member of Team Seven, and it seems that the two 'lovers', he quietly snickered to himself each time it came to mind, have gotten past their bout of shyness around each other. For the most part anyway.

With all that aside it summed up to one thing, he was going to enter Team Seven into the Chunin exams. There was one problem however, and it wore a black bodysuit; Naruto Uzumaki. He could actually understand the boy's want to avoid it.

Written test/spying test, a part of the shinobi life and a test of one's information gathering abilities. Hazardous attack/retrieval/teamwork test, to gauge a team's overall ability to pull through a situation againsts others in a environment that could get them killed; technically one passed that anyway if they are willing to count just surviving it, but they do have to limit contestants after all. But the deal breaker he knew that would keep Naruto from competing was the last one, the one-on-one combatant stage with an audience. That was a view both he and the blond shared; a hindrance more than anything. It had its merits for sure, yet for a serious shinobi it was like walking into a lion's den slathered in meat.

Revealing your skills to a open audience to numerous people who could easily tell others what they witness could get you killed.

But he had an ace up his sleeve. The same ace that got him into the exams himself when he was still a Genin and was obstinate in his decision.

Now all he had to do was find his student... joy.

XVX

Training ground ten

If the green duo of Konoha wielded swords, people would accuse them for the damage done to the wooded training ground. Entire branches were missing, smaller trees were cut clean through, and gashes were rent into the bark from both sword and what may have been either a fist or a foot. The damage was continuing to pile up.

It was all thrilling to Kira Blanc, former Death-Cult assassin and teacher of Tenten Bell. So what that she was unable to continue her duty she had sworn to perform for the last few decades when she had the unique thrill of teaching a student. A student who had a few anger issues to deal with today.

With a small grin, she ducked under a deft swing and lunged past its counterpart towards Tenten. Before Tenten could react, he was shoulder slammed with a sharp stinging sensation she became too familiar with for the past few months. She gritted her teeth, she brought both blades towards her teacher, intent on returning the favor.

Kira retreated long before the twin blades came down on her. Tenten jerked her head up to spot her teacher, and stifled a gasp to realize she disappeared. She wasn't the least bit surprised when a lengthy sword ghosted between her shoulder and neck with the blade making a slight cut along her neck. A mixture between experience and training kept her from shuddering at the feeling of cold metal against skin as well as the possibility of her life being ended.

"It's never a good thing to rely on your anger for strength. It can easily get you killed one of these days if you are going to be so sloppy. Especially if you come at everyone like a bull intent on destroying something." A hand grabbed the back of Tenten's skull and forced her to observe their ruined surroundings. Kira leaned in and whispered into her ear, "I'm just going to let you cool off for the day and we can pick up tomorrow." The thud of a hand to the back of her neck was the last thing Tenten seen and felt...

XVX

With a groan, Tenten woke up to see the ground at least half a mile above her. She closed her eyes and growled a exasperated sigh. A quick jerk of the hands and feet revealed to her what she already knew. She was being held upside down. She opened her eyes and chose to look at her equivalent of down, sky and the edges of branch reaching to the sky.

The bound kunoichi would've been furious, but she knew better. She had herself to blame for this predicament. Especially as far as her teacher was concerned. But conceit still had its say in the matter...

"Damn you Haku..."

With that said, she began to wriggle her hands free of the makeshift shackles of rope.

XVX

Konoha market

Haku had to resist the urge to sneeze. She didn't want to agitate the situation any further with a perceived insult.

When she and her father joined Konoha, she overall didn't know what to expect. In descending order of the things she did not expect to happen: replacing the teammate of her... 'friend.' Being in the same team as her... 'friend' and the man who could've killed her father had she not intervened. Being accepted into a shinobi village with little to no trouble, of course to be fair they were being escorted at the time. Last but not as surprising do to Ino's fascination to gossip, being the unsuspecting combatant in a now four-way war of kunoichi over her... 'friend.'

She already had the misfortune to meet Tenten Bell a month after joining Konoha, said young woman was probably the most deadly of the four considering her skills were eerily similar to her... 'friend's' own set, the only true difference being the weapons they favored. However it didn't save her from becoming a pin cushion from Haku's senbon and use of the ice mirrors. It didn't save Haku from having to visit the hopsital for some light stitching lately, though.

Other than Naruto and Itachi, no one could track her when she used the mirrors... even then it took the two months to get an idea without a form of visual aid; Itachi with his sharingan while Naruto was forced to rely on instinct and cunning. Tenten seemed to have a higher learning curve than those two... of course neither men were in a four-way battle for a certain person's affection.

Now Haku was forced to contend the second most serious threat that she had the, by comparison, fortune to meet. Hinata Hyuga. Unlike Tenten, it seemed like she taken the news of Haku and Naruto being intimate relatively well... so far they only had three 'spars' to date as opposed to biweekly occurrences. Haku wasn't sure who was worse in that regard, someone who can kill with deadly precision with swords of unusual make and design or someone who can shut down a person's systems in a matter of seconds if caught in the open.

Whoever named the style 'Gentle fist' has never been on the receiving end of it apparently.

Hinata smiled warmly enough at Haku. "How're you doing today Miss Momochi?" She asked lukewarmly.

Haku responded in the same fashion as Hinata. "I'm doing fine, but how're you Miss Hyuga? Doing well I suppose?"

"I'm doing well. Has everything been going well for Team Seven overall? No unexpected occurrences of a shocking nature?" Hinata asked 'curiously.' The smile didn't leave her face.

Haku's didn't disappear either. "Oh nothing new, just the same old _problems_ since I joined."

Everyone who knew better left the immediate vicinity of the two kunoichi as they _smiled_ at each other.

XVX

Ichiraku ramen

Itachi slurped the last of the noodles and proceeded to drink the broth. Meanwhile he crossed off a mental checklist in places to look for Naruto as well as where to have lunch... and quite possibly dinner. Never know where his bandana wearing student was going to pop up after all.

XVX

Makeshift bar, unknown location

"Everyone comes across a undeniable choice in their life that will always mark them as either a human being, or a monster in their own mind till their last breath. Even as a monster, one had to ask, does it do it for itself or for others? Either way, own up to it to the choice. Never forget it. Don't lie about it, especially to yourself." A sentiment shared between two elderly slayers that hide in the shadow and brought onto their students. A sentiment Roderick Gryphon conceived for cold comfort since he was slated a traitor.

Fate seemed to have a sense of irony to have sent him his assassin as a companion or sorts from his former home.

Ironic. Two cold blooded killers slated to die for the exact same reason, just years apart from each other.

Xenos, demons, traitors by at least name, neither had or voiced a problem with those assignments.

He smirked and raised a glass. His one companion raised an eyebrow at this but smirked as well.

"To being human." Two glasses clinked, and their contents drained.

XVX

Naruto's apartment

Itachi sighed as he looked around the room in what he deemed was the "safe zone." So far it looked like the blond wasn't home, and he was not keen on finding out what else his student booby trapped. Being tossed through the air like a rag doll from getting a double dose of rock salt to the hidden chest plate was not a fun experience to have when opening the front door.

XVX

Konoha rooftops

If there was a record in most swear words said in one day, Zabuza was either breaking it or was close to breaking it. Not that he cared as he ran away from what might have been a giant child clad in green while wearing bowl cut hairdo. If he knew back then what he knew now, he would've been far less inclined to join Konoha... the sake is good though.

"Please my youthful friend and ally! We must spar to see if your flames of youth are in need of being rekindled!" Might Guy shouted as he bound across the town one roof at a time in pursuit of the former Mist shinobi. If he wasn't under probation, Zabuza was sure he'd try to strangle the green monster by now... but he was afraid that might actually encourage the beast.

"Not interested, leave me alone!" Zabuza shouted back. Why the nutcase with the bizarre fascination with the word "youth" was so interested in him, he was not sure and was fairly certain he didn't want to find out. Unfortunately for him, the man he was fleeing from was getting steadily closer with each roof crossing... until he spotted a familiar tuff of hair sticking out from behind a rooftop air conditioner. Zabuza grinned evilly under his bandage mask.

turning on a dime, he darted straight towards the heavy machine. Without much effort he lept over it and sailed through the air while greeting the unsuspecting Jonin armed with a green little book in hand. "Hello Kakashi Hatake, nice day we're having eh?" He hit the ground running and never looked back at the predictable live saving event as it happened.

"Kakashi, my eternal youthful rival, how are on this youthful day?" Might Guy proclaimed when he landed next to the partially expecting silver haired man. "Hmm? Sorry, did you say something?" Kakashi replied 'innocently.' He could almost swear he heard cackling from the fleeing Jonin... not that he blamed him... if only he had a distraction against Guy as well.

XVX

Konoha market

Itachi calmly walked away from the two kunoichi. He didn't need to use his sharingan to see the swirling vortex of energy between Haku and Hinata. That and he was not going to be blamed for setting off a fight between the two. He had a keen interest in not visiting the hospital any time soon, much like anyone else with a sense of self preservation.

XVX

Bell Weaponry

Tenten grimaced as she massaged her abused wrists as she stood behind the counter. In a way she was thankful it was a slow day, for it permitted her more time to assess and care for her injuries. Luckily for her, her wrists were merely sore compared to the rope burns to the first few times it or something similar happened.

He couldn't blame her teacher for punishing her, if anyone it was to blame, outside herself, it was Haku in her opinion...

Getting drunk and bedding with her love interest, being on the same team with him, and even mentioning her own interest in the blond... Tenten gritted her teeth in a poorly veiled snarl at no one. Hinata was bad enough. Money, influence by being a noble, a sweet demeanor, and even yearning for affection from the one who caught her eye. Not a good combination to have in a rival, it made them much more difficult to defeat when fighting for anyone.

She smiled to herself, Naruto just wasn't anyone. If he was in anyway selfish then Hinata would probably have won long before Tenten became infatuated with Naruto.

And Ino... another testament that Naruto wasn't just anyone. She had the looks for a Genin her age, but not the skill. Any boy their age would have clamored to her and not look back. Ultimately she wasn't competition to Tenten.

But Haku... was a exception to Naruto's policy to be aloof in terms of love. Drunk or not, she had a lead compared to the two of them... combine that with being in relatively constant presence of Naruto, or rather spends a significant time with him in comparison, something was bound to happen and it most likely won't be alcoholic in nature. Tenten growled at the image of Haku in her mind.

She didn't want to lose Naruto to anyone. Period.

"_Ding!_"

Upon hearing that, Tenten switched from the one person that only people with a death wish would encounter in a dark alley to a sweet attentive store clerk. She had to stifle a gasp when she recognized Itachi Uchiha in her store, Naruto's shinobi sensei.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" Tenten cheerily greeted.

Itachi gave her a polite nod in return. "Have you by chance seen Naruto recently?" He asked curtly.

Upon receiving a head shaking 'no' as a reply, her promptly turned to leave. A hand grasped the door's handle when Tenten's confused cry assailed him, "May I ask why you're looking for him?"

He turned his head enough to be polite as he replied as curtly as he asked. "I wished to speak about him on something."

Without another word or giving a chance for one to be spoken, he left the store. Tenten could only blink in confusion. "Is Naruto in trouble?" She idly thought to herself. She gripped the counter in slight worry.

XVX

The weapon fanatic was crossed off in Itachi's mental checklist as he strolled to his next destination.

XVX

Dango stand

"_Blink_!"

So another Dango stick had bitten the plate like the numerous others that shared its fate. Soon another would join their ranks as Anko picked up another without remorse for her fallen victims. She was feeling good today and nothing could ruin it. "Anko, queen of revenge!" A voice shouted repeatedly throughout her mind.

Three months after the Momochi's joining of Konoha she had been dubbed "Queen of revenge" for her best act of vengeance against Naruto's numerous 'pranks' against them...converting Hinata Hyuga into a active woman trying to earn his affection! No one was able to top her so far as Naruto tries to survive the onslaught of three women vying for his attention! Four if Ino was counted... Anko snickered as she chewed on her favored treat.

Today was a good day For Anko Mitarashi. Especially with Dango at her side.

The small groan of a stool being sat on earned her attention, and a second later a eyebrow raised in curiosity as a slightly haggard Itachi Uchiha gave her a polite nod before turning his attention to the owner to order sake. With a small tired sigh, he rests his elbows on the counter and rests his head atop his folded hands as he stared blankly ahead, even when the owner returned with a saucer and a bottle of sake.

"Something on your mind?" Anko asked as she devoured her latest victim without mercy, her new title still playing like wedding bells in her head. Itachi could tell her the world would be ending tomarrow and it would not shake her, at least not immediately. Today was just too good for her.

"Just trying to find Naruto," Itachi deadpanned with a hint of fatigue as he mechanically poured himself a drink without averting his gaze.

Anko deigned a look at the clock and realized something. It was seven-fourteen in the evening, and she been hogging her spot for more than two hours... no skin off her back. She turned to her fellow shinobi with a half opened mouth, only to close it when she realized one thing. Other than the ramen stand, Naruto only haunted her beloved training ground forty-four and it was off-limits now for the upcoming Chunin exams. The shrimp could be anywhere, most likely to find a new place to lurk and hone his skills. The prospects of him succeeding however were slim on the account that the "Forest of Death" was the only place he would be put to the test at with the lowest rate of interaction from unwanted visitors.

"Missed a team meeting I take it?" Anko inquired with heartedly as she returned to her almost destroyed pile of Dango. "No, trying to convince him to enter the exam." Anko snorted at that.

"Good luck with that," she said with a small chortle.

It died down when she spied a small grin on Itachi. "You may be the queen of vengeance, but you are not the only one who can be named as a monarch over something."

Anko squinted at him, her mind already pondering how he intends to succeed in what would be a impossible chore at best.

XVX

Hallway to Naruto's apartment, near midnight

To the average person's standards, it would be weird if not suspicious to encounter two people having a conversation in a hallway. More so when one of the two had parked themselves right outside the other's apartment door for close to four hours. To a experience shinobi's standards, it would either mean something fairely serious or a mission assignment. Neither have had a shotgun blast to the chest with non-lethal rounds, at least not in intention, in all probability when opening a door. But the first part of a shinobi's assessment would be at least half right if nothing else.

Naruto, simply put, was staring his shinobi instructor down with half lidded eyes. "I am not going to participate."

Itachi nodded coolly. "Then allow me to present to you a thought you may want to cogitate about, isn't it a mark of one's skill to conceal or limit their skills?" Without any indication, he abruptly walked past his student. "If anything, it's a test to one's ability to fight in a environment where you have no advantage."

Itachi descended the nearby staircase quickly with a smirk. He and Naruto shared one thing when it came to their respective youth. Challenges were a tantalizing thing to a serious mind. Does one need improvement or are they up to task?

Ace up his sleeve indeed...

XVX

Two weeks later, in front of the sinobi academy

"Damn you Itachi-sensei," Naruto thought as he stared at the familiar doors of the academy with a beaming Sakura and slightly nervous Haku.

XVX

Meanwhile, at the Yamanaka mental health clinic/flower shop

"It was terrible, it was almost like hearing a demon cackling from hell!" A resident of the Uchiha district whimpered as he curled up into a ball on the couch.

Inoichi groaned as he looked at his fifth Uchiha patient since last night from his pen and clipboard. Heavy bags hung from his eyes from stress and lack of sleep. "Remind me, how is Itachi laughing even remotely disturbing?"

The shuddering man turned to him with deer in headlights eyes and asked him in a deathly serious tone, "Have you ever met him?" Inoichi nodded. "Have you ever seen or hear him cackle over some kind of victory?" Inoichi opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out as his mind drew a blank.

He closed it, got up, tossed the board and pen away, and stormed off to the door to his office.

"Wait, where are you going?!" His patient yelled frantically.

"Bed, good night!" Inoichi yelled back with a slight snarl. He ripped the door open and slammed it behind him.

The patient just stared at the door...

"That was just rude," he deadpanned quietly.

**A/N: Yes, the Chunin exam arc! You all know the drill, read it! The great Monkeybandit2 commands ye!**

**I don't really have much to say other than I thought it would be a good idea for a chapter with some semblance of settling into some form of normalcy. For anyone outside of the Fearsome four (or terrible three, your call) at least.**

**Yes, the shotgun with rock salt ammo idea came from Kill Bill Vol. 2. It just seemed right, I mean what kind of assassin wouldn't booby trap their own home while they are away?! Originally it was going to be a trap door or spring loaded kunai launchers but they sounded cliché while the shotgun was funnier as well as relatively non-lethal, stings like hell though as I can imagine. That and out of the two, which would Naruto most likely be able to make from scratch for a round meant to stun as opposed to kill? "Relatively Non-lethal?" Even Bean bags shot from shotguns have a certain degree of lethality when they hit certain areas of the body as I came to understand.**

**If you're wondering why Haku is a Genin while Zabuza is a straight up Jonin, Zabuza was a official ninja with a Anbu ranking before he left Mist while Haku was not a ninja in any form till Zabuza came along. Overall Haku never had a rank nor in essence a large name to go by outside of being called Zabuza's associate if you are rationally thinking about it. My line of thinking behind giving Haku Genin rank was in essence because Haku is untested and Zabuza can only teach so much about ninja arts while constantly on the move. There are bound to be some holes somewhere along the line.**

**Ok, I had a lot to say... With one more thing to add.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No Refunds.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 11: Chunin Exams, Part 1

Konoha shinobi academy, "Written test" room

If he didn't know the true purpose of this test, Naruto would have easily been stumped by some of these questions. "If the wind velocity was twenty-three miles per hour coming from the north and a merchant was traveling to the north at a rate of two miles per hour, how long in terms of time would it take the merchant to reach the town thirty miles ahead of the merchant's current position without stopping if he was chased by wolves?" Or, "How does one break a genjustsu with another genjustsu?" Or the most interesting question in its sheer absurdity, "Which would win in a fight between a potato and a cucumber?"

A better question of "did the person who written that get mauled?" played through his mind. Unless that question was meant to trip people up... part of him wanted to rip out his own hair. That question was just...

Naruto released a pent up breath of air as he glanced at the mirror on his lap. In its reflection was not himself but a list of the questions with answers to them, in Sakura's handwriting; Haku's ice mirrors, more than a means of attack or escape. That didn't stop Naruto from trying to gather information on his own account, however limited it was. It was a scary epiphany for him when he realized how unskilled he was compared to the Chunin watching him like a hawk for a change; he got information from sneaking around and through interrogation, _in the shadows_. Of course he did that in the daylight but that wasn't the point.

He was not use to being in the open, easily detectable to _anyone_.

Despite the stress of the situation to him, he smiled. Strange was the feeling of knowing you could improve.

XVX

Between the test and discreetly looking up at the intricate mirror system Tenten managed to install on the ceiling, much to their team's curiosity, Rock Lee was staring intensely at the back of the bandana blond's head. Naruto Uzumaki, the one Tenten speaks most affectionately about when asked. Oh how much he wanted to fight the dubbed "Genin of the year" of three months since Sasuke's... forced 'retirement.' The fight would be most youthful he ever had with the amongst the other Genin if what Tenten said was true about Naruto's unique hand-to-hand fighting style!

Tears threatened to gush out of Guy's potential clone. His mind was thinking back to a few minutes before the written exam started. His desired opponent was most youthful! It was indeed rude to make others wait for you when you can arrive on time and ensure your team's chance to make Chunin level!

"Most my youthful rival, we shall fight in the second part of the exam if not the third!" Rock Lee mentally proclaimed!

Naruto shivered in his spot... it was that feeling again! What other fan girl was convinced he was some warm guy with feelings?! He did not want five women fighting over him! "Damn you Anko!" He mentally screamed.

XVX

Meanwhile, Interrogation department

Anko had the bizarre feeling to burst out laughing as well as sneeze at the same time. The end result was a horrible failure of the execution of the combined acts, earning the equally bizarre stares from her coworkers as she gagged from the unnatural occurrence.

XVX

"Written test" room

Physically she couldn't truly compare to her teammates on the physical aspects of being a shinobi/kunoichi, at least not yet. But Sakura was growing and improving where she could over the past months since... Sasuke's removal. But when it came to texbook class knowledge and advanced thought, outside of battle at least, she was the shining star of the team and she enjoyed that fact. It didn't make her feel so... classless in her team.

The written test, this was her element. She set her pencil down atop the desk and smiled. Haku's ice mirror, adjusted itself underneath her desk as it viewed the last of Sakura's work. The only thing Sakura truly had to fear now was the other portions of the exam...

XVX

Thirty minutes later

Ibiki Morino hide a satisfied grin as over half the hopefuls were drummed out, leaving roughly thirty or so teams behind. But what had his attention the most was the bandana wearing kid Anko seemed to have befriended some time ago, the one and only "Royal Cat Catcher..." at least that was his title till one, the Uchiha became a citizen, and two, when Anko was officially dubbed "Queen of vengeance" for tormenting the boy with a inspired Hinata Hyuga. Everyone who sought to give him some kind of title fell short when he no longer went after the Terror of Konoha and people lacked any form of evidence to accuratly call him anything else to annoy the blond, hence him being dubbed "Genin of the Year" where the current one's fate can no longer coincide with being a shinobi... good riddance in Ibiki's mind.

Being a monster for duty's sake was one thing, being one for survival in a harsh environment fell in the same category, but being one because they were not considered the best was another story all together.

Regardless, Ibiki found unexpected amusement from the boy as he pushed his limits to gather information on his own... and fail without being marked by either Ibiki or Ibiki's entourage. There was a certain spark in his eyes for that, the spark of a challenger seeking to improve himself to overcome the challenge. It was refreshing to see that in this situation where the majority of exam takers were either overconfident, too serious, or were crushed by the weight of the oppressive tests.

Alas, the time was up for this test. The ultimatum was to be dropped.

Ibiki slammed a hand onto the wall behind him, creating a boom on par with a cannon's blast that rattled most of the Genins out of their tests or whatever activity they partook in to pass the time.

"It's time for the tenth question! Take note now that you have two options regarding this question!" Ibiki's voice boomed out louder than the act of hitting the wall. "Option one, should you take this question and fail, you shall not be made a Chunin ever by command of all the Kages of your respective villages. Option two, you can leave now and pray that by some miracle, you make Chunin the next time you take this test. Choose now or get out of my sight!"

"Hey, you don't have a say in whether or not we can't make Chunin. Who the hell do you think you are?!" A Genin bellowed from the back. His snarl died down when Ibiki casually looked at him with a icy stare.

"I have been made proctor of this part of the exam. What I say goes."

One by one, four teams have left.

"Are you going to give us the question or not?"

Ibiki turned and raised an eyebrow at the only blond wearing a bandana. The two just stared each other down without moving an inch.

Ibiki smirked. "You all passed."

His smirked remained when a large portion of the class gawked. A pig-tailed girl near the back, Temari of Suna- Village hidden in the Sand, stood up and slamed her hands on the desk. "What do you mean we passed? Was there not a tenth question to begin with?"

Ibiki's smirk never faded as he answered her with a hint of amusement. "The question was whether or not you take it. In the world of shinobi there are times where you have the choice in partaking in a mission or not. To be a Chunin, you must have the ability to step forward even when the risks of never achieving anything, let alone dying, is great."

Is if on cue, he undid his headband/bandana and revealed what was underneath. Nothing but scars. "To be a Chunin," he continued, "you need to be willing to accept what consequences your mission has. This is what it means to be a Chunin, let alone a Jonin, of your village."

He donned his headband/bandana back on. Seconds later after Ibiki finished fastening his bandana, Naruto jerked his head to the windows on his left to spot a incoming object hurtling towards the classroom; it broke through the window before anyone could do anything about it.

The object unfurled to reveal itself to be a banner with all corners tied to a kunai, and inside that banner was the Queen of vengeance herself. Anko stood proudly in front of her banner with both hands on her hips as she waited a moment for people to read the giant congratulations for passing the test before bellowing, "Anko Mitarashi, the proctor of the second test is here maggots!"

"You're too early Anko," Ibiki said as he walked around the banner nonchalantly. Anko gave him a cheesy grin in return. "Whoops? Anyway," she turned to her 'captivated,' i.e. generally spooked, audience, with a more sinister grin. "Alright maggots, meet me at training ground forty-four in thirty minutes! If you don't know where that is, followed the kid with the bandana here!" She pointed at Naruto without a hint of compassion for giving Naruto what he avoided most. Attention from people en masse.

Her grin got wider as said boy glared at her and gave the throat slicing threat to her. She cackled madly and jumped out the window.

"Oh how I hate you Anko..." Naruto grumbled to himself as he leapt from his desk to the open window as well, followed by every available body of the passing class. some of them mumbling about how their hard work was for nothing.

"Queen of revenge indeed," Ibiki mused to himself as he went to collect the test papers.

XVX

Elsewhere

A lone figure sat in the darkness with both hands in a steeple position in concentration. Danzo was dead, the only Uchiha in the Genin group was decommissioned for being dubbed mentally unbalanced, and even if he went in disguise the only thing worth stealing were the Hyuga bodies. A Ice bloodline did sound appealing, but as far as he knew, Haku Momochi was the last of her kind; if she died from his curse mark, he was for all intents and purposes screwed beyond recovery regarding Haku. He'd have to wait till she either gave blood or reproduced before making a move, there were plenty of Hyuga to steal. Regardless, security protocols have changed since Danzo's death, and the man was foolish enough to leave enough evidence to let that accursed village know about his partnership.

Then there are the rumors that two people had a hand in changing their policies. It was fascination to hear two people could slip in, slip out, and weave around them like the wind without using chakra. But there were plenty of people throughout the history of the Elemental Nations that have done things like that. Bandits, assassins, spies, just people who didn't know how to wield chakra effectively. The chief advantage they had over a trained shinobi was that with the lack of chakra usage, they were virtually invisible to a shinobi's ability to detect outside of the five senses of the human body. The only significance they bore was agitating Konoha to have a their defenders looking out for _anything_ odd.

All that said, Orochimaru only had one shot to destroy Konoha for his own ambitions, revealing himself too early will jeopardize it now. He invested too much for this plan to be cast aside now. Besides, there were plenty of Uchiha and Hyuga clan members he could force into submission... a few more dead wouldn't make a difference.

The pale man smiled devilishly. All he had to do was wait for the right moment now.

**A/N: Just writing this down because I can. Sorry for not including the purpose of the test in Ibiki's speech, thought it would be pointless.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No Refunds.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Also as a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 12: Chunin Exams, Part 2

Day three of the second test, Yamanaka Clinic

"That's just rude..." A Uchiha amongst of group of her kin deadpanned as they stared at the sign on the door.

"People disturbed by Itachi need not enter." That was written on the sign hammered into the door of the mental health clinic, and the Yamanaka Flower Shop for added effect.

XVX

Training ground forty-four, aka Forest of Death, evening

Sakura huddled closer to the fire with her arms wrapped around her knees. She never once suspected it was hard to do it the first time. Naruto, and to a lesser extent Haku, made it look so easy. Made it like breathing air. Whatever consolation Haku had to offer fell on deaf ears as she stared into the fire to avoid her specter's gaze, it had been haunting her for the past few hours.

Naruto was off to the side disassembling his rifle as mutely as possible in the cave they took shelter in. On occasion he would glance at his pink haired comrade as she coped with a sudden turn in her life that she didn't acknowledge first hand before the event. It was always different when the uninvolved party does such a thing.

Haku wasn't too far from Sakura, she offered the younger kunoichi a reassuring smile every now and then when Sakura did look up. In a way Haku envied Naruto's ability to... accept such a gritty detail of the shinobi life where she admittedly tries to avoid when possible; to take a life.

In a way it was shocking that it even happened at all, till today things were fairly quiet. No sign of any shinobi teams whatsoever. The only danger they encountered were the plants and wild life, which upon a accidently discovery they discovered that was the reason for the lack of teams. They had long collected the scroll they sought after as well as replacements in the event they are stolen from, forced to abandon, or even use a decoy to escape. Not that those things happened.

A team from Iwa- Village hidden in the stone, got the drop on them from underground. Naruto actually scoffed at that; they chose to jump up from the ground as opposed to simply dragging them under, under the belief they could take on the leaf team without trouble. Sure digging out the bodies to get the scrolls would've been a pain but it got the job done, and they would have lived to see another day. They met the classic fate for teams like the Iwa shinobi; death.

_(Flashback!)_

"You bastard!" A male Genin screamed as the only female of his team took a bullet between the eyes. He went to charge at the uncaring blond, but fell onto the ground gasping for air. For some reason his legs felt numb.

He looked down at his legs and screamed in terror when he finds they were iced over, and the ice was crawling up him without remorse. The Iwa Genin pounded at his legs feebly to free himself before visually hunting down the source of his predicament. It was the masked one in the battle kimono, he realized when he spotted her hands held up in a seal.

XVX

Sakura looked on uneasily from the back of their group as Naruto looked about for the third team member while the second was being frozen into a statue desperately clawing toward Haku, whose face was unreadable even with the mask on. She never could understand it, granted the Iwa team stated their intent to take their lives before the small massacre started, but did they have to kill them?

She shuddered as she took note that Naruto never seemed to be fazed by the act, she had not noticed it when the rogue Mist shinobi were their enemies in favor of the shock between her teammate's supposed end and Sasuke's indifference. Haku, though more hesitant compared to Naruto, never let her feelings stop her to do what was needed to protect those dear to her.

Sakura wondered if she would ever hold such steel in herself over the grizzly business.

_Snap_!

Never thinking about the act, Sakura took out a kunai and whipped around with the blade swung outwardly. It found unexpected purchase in the throat of a surprised stone shinobi. He stumbled back and clutched at his throat in a bid to save the life pumping fluid from escaping. It gushed out regardless, staining both hands and shirt below in a darkening red as ounce upon ounce drenched them in the crimson liquid.

Sakura blanched. She felt sick. She just taken the life of someone, accident or not.

She watched on with horrid bewilderment as the shinobi grew pale and still. He fell to his side, coating the grass now as well as his arm in blood.

_(End Flashback!)_

In the darkness of the forest and cave, Sakura kept seeing the fallen shinobi since then. Her mind was still trying to process the act as a mistake, as some kind of concocted nightmare given form, just anything.

Naruto only looked on from his spot, unable to muster any form of empathy or relief greater or on even par to what Haku was giving the poor girl. The most he could do at the moment was search through his mental map of the forest to get to the tower with little to no contact from a hostile element. It didn't bode well to risk his already disturbed teammate into another confrontation when it can be avoided. But between the shinobi teams and the wildlife, odds were slim.

XVX

Unofficial Jonin bar, Susanoo's drink

Zabuza was being reminded of one of the reasons he stays in Konoha that didn't involve either Haku or sake... seeing Might Guy cry from the lack of challenges from his "eternal rival." It was probably his most favorite scene to witness anywhere, especially in a bar where drinking makes it funnier. The only thing better than this was the time Anko got the title of "Queen of vengeance" for convincing Hinata to pursue Naruto. Good times...

"Speaking of the runt, how is Team Seven doing?" Zabuza idly wondered to himself as he downed another saucer.

With Haku and the blond, the team didn't have much to worry about till the last part of the exam. But even the best die in the exams. He seen to that himself in his younger days. A grin snuck onto his lips as nostalgia washed over him.

He blinked then looked at his cup. "Reminiscing about the past... I'm not that old yet," he growled to himself as he poured himself another drink.

In another part of the bar, a question was raised. "So who do you think would be in the finals?"

Asuma scratched his chin contemplatively. "Of the teams we know on hand?" He asked Kakashi as he secretly relished the fact his now drunk 'rival' cried to himself. The third best way to defeat Might Guy, use logic and facts! One cannot properly teach their students anything during the exams if the teacher was too heavily wounded after all...

In a unrelated note, the top three methods to evade Might Guy, two in the case of Kakashi, are ranged from most effective to least effective by debate: Method one, run by and acknowledge Kakashi while Guy was in pursuit. Method two, a carefully worded challenge of skill/endurance where Guy does all the work and the 'victim' can escape without notice. Method three, use logic he can follow/understand! Unsurprisingly enough these methods also worked on Guy's apprentice Rock Lee with Neji Hyuga in lieu of Kakashi Hatake.

"Yeah, easier that way I guess," Kakashi replied. Nearby, Anko spoke up, "Depends if we have to engage in the semi-finals or not, but my money's on Naruto when he shows up." Next to her Kurenai perked an eyebrow up in curiosity, "He hasn't shown up at the tower yet?" There was a hint of concern, but Anko played it off as one comrade for another. They were leaf shinobi after all.

"Yeah, but he knows that place like that back of his hand. And knowing the critters that lurk there, he's probably taking his time to get everyone through without being eaten let alone skewered by the other teams."

"Sounds like you're certain he got the other scroll already," Kakashi absently said.

Anko smirked. "And you sound like you don't really know Naruto."

"True." Kakashi took a sip of sake.

"Any other takers?"

At this Asuma smiled sheepishly, as well as the other intructing Jonin minus Guy. "I don't think any of us can say anyone's name without playing favorites."

"Spoilsports," Anko huffed and leaned into the booth of their table.

XVX

Forest of Death Tower, day four

Itachi sat next to his quivering student as she recounted how she felt about her first kill. It always made or break anyone in their line of work. Naruto and Haku had long left her along with their sensei to pursue other interests after they arrived. Most likely to spy on the other teams that made it through.

"Is it wrong for me to want to quit over this?" Sakura shakily asked.

Itachi sighed wearily and looked to his more inexperienced charge. "That is ultimately up to you. There will always be someone to either approve or condemn you for your actions regardless of the choice. But none of us will hold it against you. We're not going to force you to kill anyone, but you need to keep in mind that there will come a time where you don't have a luxury of choice."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep an ear open to whatever you want to say, but for now think about your life and where you want to take it." He got up and walked to the door, leaving behind his pink haired student...

XVX

Meanwhile...

Though it had been days since he last seen the queen and had plenty of time to cool off, part of him still wanted to strangle Anko. It was one thing to make a bad decision, it was one thing to be outmaneuvered by the student of another high caliber assassin. but this was getting ridiculous. Ever since Anko inspired Hinata, he had a hard time ditching her when Haku wasn't around or when Tenten didn't intercept her. However he failed to consider the possibility that he underestimated how much she changed from the talkative sweet girl that ambushed him at the ramen stand.

Case and point, in a situation eerily similar to Tenten's 'attack,' Hinata had him pinned to the wall with their lips mashed together. Her somehow stripping off one of his gauntlets and manipulating the bare hand into groping her coat covered chest was however a new game altogether.

The red blood in him was burning happily in his veins, but years of training and a serious attitude still had a say in the matter in one mental howl... "Damn you Anko!"

XVX

Anko's apartment

Kurenai worriedly stared at her friend when she suddenly burst out in a cackle without any warning.

XVX

Back at the tower with a captive Naruto

Hinata knew this was in part wrong, but she was not going to let Naruto go without some kind of fight. She was going to let Naruto know her feelings one way or another. She knew him far longer than the other two, three if Ino was counted.

They were together in the academy, though not as a couple. They trained together. They even shared stories of their lives together, though admittedly with some details left out... how can one politely intone sex with another party?

Regardless, Naruto was there with and for her since the academy. Even if Anko was wrong in her assessment of the situation, she will at least let her affection be known to her blond interest even if he will not return it. That much felt right, as well as getting his hand to squeeze her breast. Through her half lidded eyes she spied Naruto's cheeks reddening at the moan elicited from the act. It was fun as it was comforting to get Naruto out of his serious state even in a small fraction, that fact Hinata could always live with without shame.

A few feet away, unnoticed by either party for differing reasons... were the other two femme fatales looking on fiercely. Each of them were restraining themselves their own way... as well as plot their own counters to this predicament...

XVX

Naruto was sure of one thing by night's end. Hinata was definitely hiding her figure under that coat.

XVX

Day five, shinobi meeting room, Forest tower

A neat formation of twenty-four shinobi stood in front of the assembled Jonin and the Hokage. The formation consisted of leaf teams seven through ten, the team from Suna, two teams from Kiri, much to Zabuza's curiosity on the subject, and one team from Oto to finish things off.

Anyone savvy to the world would find it curious that there were shinobi from Kiri- Village hidden in the Mist. According to everyone, and Zabuza himself, Mist was in the middle of a civil war with itself regarding the eradication/preservation of bloodlines. According to the Jonin instructors of the Mist shinobi, the 'rebels' won three months ago. Roughly just after the Momochi's joined Konoha if a marker had to be used to track the timeline. For whatever the reason, the only detail they given as to how the war was ended was that they received help from a unexpected source.

No one outside of Kiri was sure what to make of it out of that.

Regardless, the teams split up into two groups and ascended the stairs to catwalks above so the floor would be clear. The reasoning was simple, there were too many shinobi that made it to the tower. The semi-final matches were to be enacted.

The back wall of the room slide back to reveal a giant screen to produce the matches at random.

Naruto looked back at Sakura. Her skin was still pale from the incident, but she seemed to have been able to piece herself back together with some help. In truth he was surprised she didn't drop out when offered the chance earlier.

Sakura caught Naruto looking and offered a small smile, a worn one but a smile all the same.

"Naruto," the hushed voice of Haku whispered aloud with a hand to nudge his shoulder. He turned in time for the sickly announcer/proctor, Hayate Gekko, to proclaim the first match. "Naruto Uzumaki and Nagi Hyuga, please come down to the match floor."

Cracking his neck, Naruto leisurely walked down the stairs and onto the floor in front of Neji Hyuga, the Genin of the Year from the last class of shinobi.

"Fighters ready?" The proctor asked, punctuating it with a cough.

Neither of them replied.

"Alright then. Begin!" He yelled/coughed and jumped back. To his disappointment, neither of them charged each other. Instead they, more or less, glared at each other. More accurately Neji was glaring at Naruto while he sternly stared back.

XVX

"You sure that's him?" One of the Genin of Kiri asked his neighboring Jonin sensei. All he received back was silence from the Jonin as she stared back at Zabuza from across the room, who never took his eyes off the Mist shinobi since her entered the room with the leaf Jonin. The Genin sighed and looked at the unmoving combatants below. "Can't even see his hair, how are we suppose to confirm his identity if we-." A hand smacked the back of the Genin's head hard, courtesy of a fellow Genin of Kiri. "Shut up you idiot." The other male Genin growled. Under the pretense of scratching an itch along the chest portion of his shoulder, he pointed towards the nearby leaf shinobi. There were no indicators to say they were listening, but a shinobi knows better.

XVX

"You should give up, fate has already decreed you would lose this day," Neji said coldly. Naruto made no effort to indicate he even heard him.

"You are up against one of the elite clans of Konoha, you have no chance of victory here," Neji spoke once more. Naruto continues to be unresponsive.

Neji narrowed his eyes at the bandana wearing blond. "Are you so afraid of me that you refuse to speak, whelp?" Naruto only blinked, _slowly_.

"So be it then. If you refuse to forfeit, then I will make you!" The Hyuga charged, not even firing off his Byakugan, especially when he caught sight of Naruto's foot edging a bit forward as the boy leaned forward.

XVX

"Neji's in trouble..." Tenten muttered.

This earned the confused glances from her teammate and sensei. "Why do you say that Tenten?" Lee asked.

"One, Naruto had helped Hinata out for years so he has a understanding of the Gentle Fist style. And two," a hand snaked out and grabbed Neji's wrist followed by his forearm, "Naruto likes to keep things proficient where possible."

XVX

Neji's eyes widen when Naruto flipped him over his shoulder. To add to his shock, Naruto didn't let go. Neji slammed into the ground chest first behind where Naruto was originally standing. Naruto dashed over to over Neji's back, placed a boot to Neji's shoulder, and pulled Neji's arm back. _Hard_.

Neji screamed as his arm was bent in a way it wasn't supposed to. His scream hit a higher octave when he felt the bone give way with a "_snap_," the more light hearted shinobi of the room paled while the more xperienced once grimaced at the brutality of it.

Neji felt his arm, what was left of it, flop to the floor much to his agony. Agony cut short with a blow to the back of the head, silencing him. Naruto got off him and back away as Hayate darted up to the boy and checked his pulse. "He's unconscious, probably has a concussion," he yelled out for everyone to hear. Immediately medics and a stretcher were deployed to retrieve the fallen Hyuga while Naruto ascended the stairs once more.

XVX

"D-did Naruto have to break his arm?" Lee intoned in a perturbed fashion. He never seen someone fight quite like that with... anyone. Guy however was stoic as he observed the Uzumaki.

"Knowing Naruto, he most likely did that as a precaution if he didn't knock out Neji," Tenten also intoned, seemingly unaffected by the display. Lee looked to Guy as if to confirm what Tenten said. Might Guy nodded solemnly with a frown. "It's a good strategy against any opponent," he said. "In the event you are in or think you will be in a prolonged fight, crippling your enemies' combat capabilities will tip the scales in you favor. Considering what Tenten said, Naruto targeted Neji's arm on the grounds that the Gentle Fist style is much more effective with two arms as opposed with one."

Lee tried to say something, but closed his mouth as he looked back at the floor where Neji was...

Guy meanwhile looked towards the "flower of team nine" as he called her and frowned a little. One would think she would voice or show some level of concern...

XVX

"Damn, that was kind of brutal, do you think that Zabuza taught him to do that?" Once again the Genin faced the wrath of his fellow Genin's hand to the back of his head. "Will you knock it off?!" He barked at his companion. He was not even dignified with a look.

XVX

"Tenten Bell and Zaku Abumi, please step to the floor!" The leaf and sound Genin assumed the position. Zaku smirked at Tenten, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction. She frowned, then snarled as Tenten stared at him blankly, but if one looked closer, she actually looked bored.

"Begin!" Hayate jumped back just in time to miss Zaku raising both arms with a black hole dead center on each palm. "Decapitating Airwaves!" He roars out. Twin jets of pressurized air screams out of his arms towards Tenten, who seemingly effortlessly dodged them by stepping to the left.

Walking toward him without much purpose in her step, Tenten reaches into one of her pockets and digs around. She steps out of the way again when Zaku sent another pair of waves at her, she continues walking towards him unabated.

"Think your some kind of hot shot eh? EAT THIS!" Zaku roared once more. "Decapitating Volley!" Zaku jumped back and unleashed a hail of pressurized air bullets from his built in cannons. Tenten whipped out a scroll and opened it. Poofing into existence was a bomb, a smoke bomb of the older designs compared to the grenade sized ones now being produced and sold.

The lobbed it into the ground before the first of the bullets screamed right at her. Zaku continued to pulverize the general area of the cloud of smoke obscuring his view. With as many shots he was producing he was bound to hit something, right? Bursting out of the cloud to his left, Tenten circled around his left flank. He turned with a grin to greet her with his seemingly endless barrage. The grin turned into another snarl as the girl weaved in and out of his volley.

Pumping more chakra into his modified arms, his assault continued without pardon as Tenten continued to circle around him. "Screw this!" He barked. "Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!" He cackled when Tenten was most assuredly hit from the wide area blast emitted from his arms, the area Tenten was at was soaked in a fierce assault of air and sound aimed to destroy the kunoichi. His cackle grew noisily when no evidence of his opponent was left behind in the assault...

His laughter stopped when he felt the cold touch of metal pierce him from behind, the sound of flesh being rent by steel assailing his ears like waves from an ocean. Shakily he looked back and realized the smoke cloud was now dissipating, and Tenten was right behind him staring coolly straight into his eye. "How...?" He dumbly asked.

Tenten never even blinked when she retrieved the sword from her improvised sheath. Nor did she look at Zaku when he crumbled onto the ground with a growing pool of his own blood. She walked away contently, caring only for her elongated one edged blade when she was declared the winner and Zaku was rushed out of the arena with the utmost urgency.

Up above, Guy shivered at the frigid behavior Tenten displayed. It was like she planned the fight out from the start despite never meeting Zaku. And aside from the scroll, she never used chakra during the whole excursion as opposed to her fighting methods till... a few months ago. Could it be that whoever he gladly gave permission to train Tenten turned her into something like Naruto? At least in the heat of battle at least? He actually shivered at the thought. Aside from the other form of training, this was a drastic change.

"Tenten, that was a most amazing fight! It was like you knew what he would do before he would even do it!" Lee exlaimed, undisturbed unlike his mentor. Tenten smiled softly at that, "To be honest he came across as a open book to me. The airwave thing had me going for a second though."

"You are most youthful Tenten! You admit to being fazed by his most unqiue attacks yet you persevered without once retreating! The flames of youth burn brightly within you!" Lee shouted for all to hear.

XVX

"I didn't think she was actually serious about that..." Naruto mumbled, slightly disturbed by Lee's behavior. Haku gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "As I understand it, my father often has to deal with Lee's mentor, Might Guy."

"My condolences to your father then..." Naruto whispered. Part of him wanted to cringe when Lee's attention was on him... with fire burning in his eyes.

"Wait, didn't he mention something about youth when he challenged you earlier?" Sakura asked curiously. Naruto blinked in thought. "If he did, I may not have heard him."

Rock Lee yelped in pain when Tenten yanked on his ear.

XVX

"Temari Taiyo and Choji Akimichi, please come to the floor!"

Temari wasted no time in getting into position. Choji nervously clung onto the railing, he was not eager to face the Suna kunoichi. "Choji, don't worry about it. Just go out there and do your best. If-." Asume was cut off by an impatient Temari.

"Are you coming down or what fatso?!" Nervous nerves were replaced with red rage. The bar underneath his hands was mutilated. With a small roar, Choji leaped over the railing to the ground before and bellowed, "I'm not fat, I'm big boned!"

Above them, Asuma pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes shut. Young people these days... they just can't wait for motivational speeches any more.

Back on the floor Choji was grinding his teeth as steam shot out of his ears while Temari was warding off a headache similar to Asuma.

Hayate shouted out and jumped back once more once the match began. Temari readied to swing the giant fan that was her choice of weapon, but gawked when her opponent instantly turned into a giant round boulder of a human and gunned straight at her. Temari jammed the butt of her fun and propelled herself out of the way with her weapon in tow. Choji slammed into the wall long before he realized he missed.

Temari unleashed a sharpened blast at Choji as he tries to liberate himself from the wall due to the momentum of his attack. The attack connected, but failed to cut anything more vital than clothing. The only indicator it even hurt Choji was a muffled yelp as Choji continued to struggle.

Temari raised an eyebrow, usually that particular attack was far more effective than that. She gears for another blast and unleashes it upon the stuck Akimichi. The results were the same, but it seemed to force the boy deeper into the wall.

With what might have been a groan of frustration, Choji reverted back to his normal size and jumped out of the crater he made, unaware of the glint in Temari's eye. She leapt back several feet with a grin teasing her lips.

"Hey fatso, if that's the best you got I would have to forfeit this match out of pity. Maybe even boredom!" Temari shouted out, earning the desired effect of the now enraged Akimichi. "Big boned! I'm big boned! Chubby at best!" He howled and barreled at her once more as a human boulder.

Temari charged back, as the distance between them were but a few feet she slammed the butt of her fan on the ground and used it to propel herself over Choji. When she landed, she swung her fan at the 'retreating' boulder. "Great breakthrough!"

The plan had come to fruition. Choji, charging at high speed as a human boulder, coupled with the added affect of a rush of wind to increase velocity, slammed into another wall with enough force to shake the entire room. Everyone stared at the stock still boulder imitation... Choji reverted back to normal and didn't get up, yet moaned in agony over the situation.

Needless to say, Temari won the fight.

XVX

If Shogi was anything to go by, Shikamaru had nothing to worry about in his match against the Sound kunoichi Kin Tsuchi. That was Naruto's, Asuma's, Ino's... quite frankly anyone who ever went against or observed him in Shogi had that opinion.

With that thought, Naruto took more interest in the shinobi from Kiri. The one who everyone seemed to have dubbed the moronic one kept hinting about some form of interest in him, or more specifically his identity outside the name. Though the reasoning behind their interest was unknown, the worse or at least some kind of plot was to be assumed. They didn't live in a black and world after all...

"Winner, Shikamaru Nara!"

Oh they called it...

XVX

"Turning your weakness into a weapon, your nightmares becoming your enemies' nightmares, use everything you have at your disposal if you want to survive any encounter if you ever want to achieve victory." Naruto's advice continued to burn in her ears when she was called up to face her... 'friend' Ino Yamanaka. Though she had taken the time to help Sakura out of her slump regarding Sasuke, they were still rivals. Just not to the extent it use to be.

It was weird to see what her relationship was like by observing Ino and Naruto. Granted, Naruto was friendler than Sasuke could ever be, which was saying alot which she begrudgingly admitted to herself, but he wasn't the type to return feelings nor accept them for reasons unknown to her if what she saw was correct regarding the blonds. As far as she knew, the only time he had taken a interest in a relationship was that one time back in Wave country... she had to admit, it was fun to see Naruto so shy around their new teammate during the first few weeks of her replacing Sasuke.

Observation or not, Ino was set to defeat her when Hayate started their match. And now Sakura was about to be on the receiving end on the famous Yamanaka clan's technique of soul possession. Something clicked in Sakura's mind... "... they can be surpassed if you can exploit their weaknesses."

What weaknesses did the Soul possession technique have? All she knew was that it allowed the user to take over one's body... and mind. A mind is central to one's ability to live. It contained the power to mobilize the body, enables one to formulate advanced planning and thoughts... thoughts that stem from memory and experience...

The unseen force that was Ino's soul hurtled at Sakura, even if she saw the sad smirk on her 'foe's' face, it was far too late to stop now.

Opening her eyes in Sakura's mind, Ino was greeted by the grizzly sight of a Stone shinobi clutching his neck to prevent the already copious amount of blood spilling from it. Shocked beyond believe, Ino was unable to anchor herself into Sakura's consciousness and thus retreated to her own body. Before she even opened her eyes in the real world, she was cast out of her own conscious mind with a blow to the skull.

"Winner by knock out, Sakura Haruno!"

Between the brief mental intrusion and the combined might of a mad dash with a heavy punch, Sakura heaved in ragged breaths. On the inside, she was ambiguous at best. On one hand, she just earned a victory under her own merit, albeit with whispers of the past aiding her. On the other, she just brought down possibly her only friend outside of Team Seven. It just didn't feel right.

She looked at her hand, the world seemed to fade away and leave her by herself. With that hand, she had taken her first life. With that hand, she brought down her friend Ino. Now that she was in it, she did not want to back down as a kunoichi. At the same time, she didn't want to immerse herself in the grim aspect of death; at the very least she didn't want to be an active part of it.

XVX

"Who the hell named that style 'Gentle fist?'" A Mist shinobi groaned as he was taken away on a stretcher after his match with Hinata Hyuga. He became another one to join the hidden ranks of people who had the popular opinion that the one who named that style 'Gentle Fist' had never been on the receiving end of it, or at least a twisted sense of humor. Either way it just _hurts_.

XVX

Gaara Taiyo, aka Gaara of the Desert... the boy put everyone around him at edge, even his family members and sensei from what the trained eye could detect. When a moral factor was considered, it was a mixed blessing for Naruto to observe Gaara's primary method of attack... and weakness at the expense of the remaining Sound shinobi's, Dosu Kinuta's, life. But such was life.

The remarks of Gaara's ability to use sand as his means to defense and offense making him invincible was a utter fallacy to Naruto; nothing was invincible, and he was going to need to learn water based justsus if push came to shove should they meet in the finals. Naruto squinted his eyes by a diminutive fraction as he observed Gaara's posture.

Throughout the match Gaara had kept Dosu at bay with his sand based sweeps, throughout the match Gaara never once moved. It was all to easy to read the more subtle hints from the sand user. Until he caught Dosu in a tendril of sand, Gaara was bored; his eyes lighten up with manic glee when Dosu's muffled screams, too unintelligible behind the sand barrier squeezing him, reached him.

A unstable container of the one-tailed tanuki (raccoon-dog) with a taste for blood. Not good.

XVX

"This is just embarrassing..." The sole male Jonin of the teams of Kiri mumbled, earning a nod from his female partner. One of their Genin just gave up after one minute's worth of his match against Rock Lee... to be fair, he was spouting the speech of youth, and his teacher on the catwalk was crying and was even joining it.

No one, aside from the Mist shinobi, really blamed the Genin... psychological warfare was far more scarring than physical warfare.

XVX

"Do we even want to know what that kid ate for lunch?" Asuma asked no one in particular as Kiba Inuzuka was dragged out of the room, far away from the mirthful and slightly obese Ozo Noichi of the Mist Genin. It was a bit disheartening to see anyone taken down by the power of a belch. A belch that was jam-packed with just about everything foul enough to make a shinobi trained dog to flee and a smell sensitive shinobi to faint.

XVX

Shino Aburame had yet to reveal much in her much other than his ability to use bugs. The Genin in his match, interestingly enough, was entomophobic; he feared bugs above all things.

Off to the side, Naruto was mentally cursing at the lost opportunity to develop counter strategies against Shino. Guns would solve the problem, but a backup plan was nice.

XVX

Kankuro Taiyo was growling behind the largest, most durable construct he had in his arsenal of puppets. The only reason it was still standing was the fact that it was cast in iron as opposed to treated wood. Though puppetry had its flaws, puppets like this one had its biggest flaw ever known due to the serious lack of mobility; iron was not as light nor maneuverable as wood.

Save for particular cases did these failed constructs have any advantage, being attacked by a psychopath with a grenade launcher had fit into the criteria rather well. Crow had long bitten the dust, and Black Ant was missing its arms thanks to a last minute dodge. The aptly named Ironwall was now the only means he could win against Mori Hav, who continued to pound the construct without regard with grenade after grenade with no regard. Ironwall would have been a crumpled heap by now if the original creator hadn't had the foresight to install chakra shields under movable plates around the hands, legs, and shoulders.

Chakra shields were a puppeteer's means of defending their puppets by installing specialized devices that spread out and deploys a field of chakra to act just like it was named. However depending on the skill and output of the puppeteer in question when using chakra strings, the effects could either be detrimental or too difficult to use.

For Kankuro, it was a race against time. The shields were consuming more and more of his chakra reserves with each blast that was repelled. Sooner or later that nut with the explosives had to run out, he could only hope it was before his puppet had to take any more hits without the shields. It was durable, but those launch-able grenades already left small craters and tears on the armored puppet before the shields were put to use.

The construct was rocked with another explosion. Kankuro peaked around it and witnessed the opposing Genin dropping a bag previously strapped to his shoulder to the ground and pulling out a scroll. Kanuro narrowed his eyes. This was the best chance he could get for awhile.

Clutching his hand, the shields deactivated. A heavy "clunk" resounded from the metal puppet and both arms shot out with chains attached to them.

Mori was sequentially capture and brought before the tall construct.

"Gah!"

Mori struggled against the construct as it began to crush him against it. "I give, I give!" He shouted.

"Winner by forfeit, Kankuro Taiyo!" Hayate shouted.

Unceremoniously Mori was tossed away by the iron construct while Kankuro cackled in victory.

XVX

The Mist kunoichi gritted her teeth as she plucked senbon needles out of her numb arm. Haku had been keeping her distance from the kunoichi and seemed to take extra care not to use any form of justsus for some reason. If Haku wasn't aiming at her legs half the time, this wouldn't be much of a problem to her charges.

And unfortunately the hiding mist justsu was turned against the kunoichi when she activated it to obscure Haku's vision.

Meanwhile, Sakura ogled Haku. Or rather her choice of weapon. "Why didn't I think of this before?" She berated herself.

A senbon needle in the shinobi field was derived from the medicinal senbon traditionally used by relatively rural healers and acupuncturists. They could cripple, or kill, if one had advanced nowledge of the human body. But that wasn't the point. Haku's senbon was like a sword.

That which is meant to kill is also meant to protect. Not all paths of the shinobi lead to death... Tsunade Senju of the Sannin herself proved that with her arguments and improvements in the field of medicine applied to shinobi...

XVX

The preliminaries were concluded, and the matches to-be were one month from now.

First Round: Rock Lee vs. Ozo Noichi.

Second Round: Shikamaru Nara vs. Temari Taiyo.

Third Round: Sakura Haruno vs. Shino Aburame.

Fourth Round: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Gaara Taiyo.

Fifth Round: Tenten Bell vs. Kankuro Taiyo.

Sixth Round: Haku Momochi vs. Hinata Hyuga.

Plans were to be made, plots to thicken, and adversaries of more than one field were to be defeated.

This was a guarantee for all, exam partaker or not.

XVX

Orochimaru's hideout

"Man, I wish so-." _WHAP_! "Ow! What the -... wait a minute, you're that asshole from Gato's gig!" A mercenary yelled.

"Just shut up," the scarred mercenary growled.

Behind a door a few feet away, Orhcimaru grumbled to himself, "It's going to be a long month..."

**A/N: Upset! Chaos! Disorder! Evil cackle! You get the idea. Broke the classic Sakura/Ino stalemate and you, dear readers, bore witness to this act!**

**I'll be honest with you with a small ****_spoiler_**** for any story regarding Naruto and the Chunin exam arc, I favor Neji's ass being kicked, stabbed, set on fire, the works regarding him and destiny. With this attitude, it was the partial (sole reason actually) reasoning as to why I had them fight in the preliminaries.**

**On that note, pardon me if the fights seemed short, I really didn't have the imagination to draw out everyone's fight. And no, I will not go into detail about Kiri's interest in Naruto upon asking, you will have to sit there, deduce, and find out eventually! (Cackles.)**

**If you're wondering about the Sand Siblings' last name, like Tenten, they never really had a last name. I just chose the name that made the most sense to me considering the environment they were living in.**

**And correct, no Kabuto or other "leaf genin," or even a Sound attack from the genin. No Sasuke, no reason for either factor to occur. Orochimaru is trying to keep a low cover after all and nothing is there that is enticing enough for him to make some effort to have either to occur.**

**With that said, there is only one thing to do.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Also as a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 13: Chunin Exams, Part 3

Training ground eighty-four, twelve days till the third exam

She wasn't sure if it could be concluded as amazing or scary that Naruto came to the decision to use high powered weaponry for his opponent, Gaara. Yugao however had to wonder if Naruto was even considering letting Gaara live through the encounter as another boulder was obliterated. Granted the sand would render most weaponry useless against Gaara, but was it necessary for Naruto to resort to a building destroying hulk-ish sniper rifle variant?

Earlier in the month, Yugao Uzuki was pleasantly surprised to find Itachi requesting her help to train Naruto for his fight against Gaara, specifically with water elemental attacks in regards of the sand while Itachi was to train Sakura and Haku. It was curious, but it was agreed on by all parties... with some reluctance. During this time she was able to get a closer look at the enigma that was Kushina's son. She lacked the fortune of knowing at least a quarter of Naruto's personality when compared to Itachi, Anko, and those kunoichi that seem to be fighting over him, since his kidnapping years ago when he was seven.

He just seemed quiet. Serious, always thinking about something. From the more visible indicators, he was definitely trained or being trained by the infamously dubbed 'Mystery Man' that haunted Konoha for years, no matter how hard Yugao looked, Naruto virtually was invisible till he revealed himself to her when it came to sensing. Much like him...

Another quirk she learned that Naruto would train for hours, that or experiment with weaponry, and his suit when a few strap on cases to his legs became evident, regardless of being supervised or not. If he wasn't so serious, Yugao would say he was taking a page out of Guy's handbook. She couldn't really blame him for his upcoming fight...

But she had to worry when Naruto's interest in water based justsu waned and gave way to a more military approach. The "God's wrath" heavy duty sniper rifle was just another in a small list of destructive weaponry ranging from grenade launchers to missile launchers under the "just incase" banner. The rubble that made up the more mountainous training ground Konoha had to offer seemed to beg to differ.

XVX

Training ground nine, seven days till the third exam

Neji sat under a tree by himself with eyes glazed over, failing to observed the latest training session between Lee and Tenten. His mind boggled with all sorts of things, his defeat and injury by Naruto Uzumaki, the cold shoulder from Tenten and subsequent plans to apologize to her without getting a broken jaw, if he was lucky, to add to his broken arm, and last but not least the truth behind his father's death.

He mostly felt empty inside now that his hatred dwindled to something akin to burning coal embers left over from a fire. When he woke up in the company of Team Nine he immediately and vehemently went on a tirade against Naruto, calling him a cheater, a piece of filth, someone who got lucky against a child of a noble clan. Though Team Nine didn't approve, none took it more personally than Tenten. Neji never feared for his life so much the second he locked eyes with her. Eyes colder than ice.

The two never spoke a word to each other since then, one out of hatred for her teammate while the other fearing great personal injury he was sure to come.

To add insult to injury, he learned the true story of his father's death; to save the life of his brother, the head of the Hyuga clan, over the matter of the Hyuga kidnapping attempt years ago. It wasn't a matter about fate, destiny, or some other un-seeable force, it was a matter of the greater good and protecting family.

To Neji it was in a way morbidly funny that Naruto took him down. He didn't believe in fated paths, he believed in actions to make a path. He didn't hold onto emotions, he flowed through them to get the job done. He didn't see a noble from a clan... he saw an enemy to be put down. To Neji begrudging acceptance, Naruto was better than him.

He smirked. He had a long way to go apparently as a shinobi and as a person. Now what to do to at convince Tenten not to kill him in his sleep during missions...

XVX

Women's hot spring, four days till the third exam

Jiriaya of the Sannin giggled perversely with a hand on his mouth. When put on a list ranging from one to twenty, Konoha's hot springs ranked four since Tsunade left. For a time Jiriaya grieved at the loss of such a jewel that even his notorious spy network could barely track, but that was life. Letters from his adoring fans and his intensive hours of "research" had long since comforted that wound. And the new book was coming along _very_ nicely as he scribbled down some more notes.

Though it pained him that he couldn't find the blond container of the Nin-tailed Fox, his fans came first. There was plenty of time to find him and teach him stuff, right? Right.

"Oh yeah, rub it in slower..." Jiriaya giggled softly.

If he was aware or not, Anko was hiding behind a bush glaring daggers at the old man with a vicious grin. Today was the day were her title as "Queen of vengeance" was to be further cemented into her name... no one gets away with getting her drunk and writing about her sexual exploits! Today was going to be marked as a holiday for all the, supposedly, decent women in the world! And she had an ace up her sleeve to ensure it would happen.

Now first things first... Anko stood up straight, fisted her hands in the pockets of her trench coat, and calmly walked toward Jiriaya a little too eagerly for everyone's taste but hers.

"Hey, aren't you the writer of the Icha-Icha series, Jiriaya? The same series which rakes in millions with each new book?" Jiriaya glowered for a moment before turning towards the one who interrupted his "research." What remained of his fowled mood melted instantly into a cheesy grin when he spotted a woman with purple hair tied up into a spiky pony-tale variant wearing a trench coat.

"Why yes, I am the great Jiriaya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku! How may I help you? Perhaps I could interest you in a cup of sake?" Seemingly out of nowhere, a jug of sake and a couple of saucers materialized into his hands.

"Great my ass..." Anko grouched to herself. "No thank you. I, unlike you, learn from my mistakes." At this Jiriaya raised a curious eyebrow. "One of those women eh?" He thought to himself. "I'm not sure if you remember me, but I was the base of one of your characters in one of your books. The damp of the Jungle was it?" Anko looked up at the sky with an air of contemplation with a finger on her lips as a focus of sorts. She snapped her fingers. "Ah yes, Damp of the Jungle!" She exclaimed cheerily, not even hiding the dark undertones. She returned her gaze and smiled dangerously. Each feature of her body darkened with the promise of pain and mutilation with each word that came from her lips. "Pages Thirty-four to eighty-four and one-hundred-twenty to one-hundred-sixty-nine I believe with both sexes I believe."

Beads of sweat dotted Jiriaya's forehead, Anko may not be as powerful as Tsunade but she has a lot more experience in getting more than even with people...

"Oh look at the time!" Jiriaya's eyes shot up towards the sun then back down at her with a nervous but still cheesy grin. "I have to report to the Hokage's office. Sorry that I cannot spend more time with you, perhaps we could get together sometime in the future!" He said quickly, mentally adding in, "When I'm dead and buried that is."

"Oh that's too bad..." Jiriaya prepared to spring out of the way. "I'm afraid you're going to be late for that appointment." Before Jiriaya gasped, he felt a spike of chakra build up from under him. The next thing he knew dirt was flying everywhere and several hands held him in place, as well as kept his hands from reaching him.

"Hold him down shrimp!" Anko yelled at the top of her lungs, slipping on a pair of brass knuckles and charged; brass knuckles specially made for this occasion if the aura of chakra humming through them were an indication. "Wait, no, I can explain!" Jiriaya screamed to defend himself, his attention too focused on Anko to do anything else.

XVX

"What is going on?!" A aggravated brown haired kunoichi growled, her day at the hot springs was suppose to be a relaxing one.

"If I had to guess, one of the girls found a peeper and is having 'fun' with him," another kunoichi replied, almost as annoyed.

For the past few minutes a man has been screaming "uncle!" "mercy!" and "I apologize!" from behind the fence.

"One, two, THREE!" A woman yelled from over the fence. A bound and gagged body with all too familiar white shaggy hair came crashing into the women's hot spring.

"Is that...?" A woman half asked as a tick mark became pronounce.

A bag with a note landed not too far from the wounded and trapped man.

A kunoichi picked up the note and read aloud the following: "I, the humble queen, present to you the greatest enemy of decency on a public and private scale. Jiriaya of the Sannin, make do with what you want from the bag.

Yours sincerely,

Anko, Queen of vengeance and my subordinate Naruto."

A muffled exclamation resounded from Jiriaya. Of what no one was sure nor cared when the bag's contents were revealed to be blunted kunai, clubs, and other weaponry.

The collective spike of the killing intent of thirty or so kunoichi and civilians alike was felt throughout Konoha.

XVX

Hokage's office

"You never learn, do you Jiriaya?" Hiruzen solemnly asked as he sipped his tea... his eyes marred with tears as the prospect came to his mind about the latest book was to be delayed even further.

XVX

Konoha in general

Every avid male reader felt their heart clutch as something horrid happened. It was like someone walked over their graves with a malicious grin. It wasn't natural!

XVX

"It pays to have friends," Anko casually commented to herself while standing next to Naruto. Both relishing the tormented screams of their abused victim as they came over the fence.

Life was good... for all save Jiriaya, and to a lesser extent his fans.

XVX

Final exam, Konoha Chunin arena, few minutes since the first match's beginning

Rock Lee huffed as he clutched his bruised side as he stared his opponent from Kiri down. Ozo Noichi, clad in the typical colors of Kiri from shoes to shirt sans bandages wrapped around his hands, with a build similar to Choji's but larger by a fifth of a fraction in height and girth, and had his black messy hair tied back by his headband, was a tougher challenge than Lee was expecting. His body fat was acting as a natural cushion to Lee's punches and kicks.

Other than a bruise forming on the Genin's face, he was otherwise unaffected by Rock Lee's specialty of taijustsu.

Ozo grinned and performed a series of hand seals, smugly taking his time with each one. "Better end this then, Earth Release: Earthern Forest of Spires Justsu!" He slammed both hands onto the ground with a boom echoing off the walls of the arena.

The ground rumbled, and soon spire after spire erupted from the ground. Each one coming out of no discernible pattern, both in shape and placing, or coming close to other combatant. Lee raised an eyebrow in wonder to this, but shook it out of his mind of it when Ozo charged him. In the back of his mind he could not help but wonder, was his opponent growing despite coming closer?

"Witness my best original technique!" Ozo shouted. Using both fists, Lee punched Ozo away to one of his earthen spires. A big mistake.

Indeed, Ozo was getting larger, but his body was becoming more and more like a ball than a giant. When the 'ball' impacted against the spire, it left no print of impact. In fact it the 'ball' seemed to be repelled by the spire and came hurtling back to a dumb struck Rock Lee. "Human Art: Human Pinball!" Ozo shouted from his form as he collided, crushed, and left Lee to impact against another spire, then another, then another.

Lee coughed and weakly stood up from the point of impact that was Ozo's landing. He wiped a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth. "Please forgive me Guy-Sensei, but I believe if I am to win I must take this to the next level!" Lee dropped to his knee and undid his orange leg warmers as Ozo came back for a second round. The larger Genin cackled as her neared impact.

He crashed into Lee's spot and bounced away once again without looking back. Before he noticed it, a chain of weights landed on top of him and sent him hurtling to the ground where he bounced off. He collided with the wall and aimed for a spire, only to be hit with another chain weight, giving the mass of flesh a spin as it only grazed him at worst when it passed him by. Ozo hit the spire and lost control of what control he had; instead of bouncing towards the wall, his spinning body dragged him up the spire before he hopped off towards the roof of the arena where he bounced against the edge of the roof back to the flat side of one of his spires. He bounced off the roof once more before deflating and planting himself on the spire while glaring at a determined Lee in his strong fist stance on the ground below.

"Round two," Ozo mumbled to himself and reached into his pocket. He retrieved a scroll with a set of seals on it, and expelled a long stringed set of kunai which he wraps himself. Once more he leapt towards Lee, his body expanding into a spiked ball of death as opposed to the blunted one.

Being wiser than before, and fairly familiar with the fact that punching pointy objects hardly ends well due to training mishaps and failed attempts to stop his punches on various enemies in the past, Lee got out of the way. Ozo crashed and bounced away in another chain of spires to get another shot at Lee.

Meanwhile Lee was trying to think of ways to defeat Ozo. Physical attacks hardly affect him, and the fact that he was using his own body as a literal pinball meant he was hardly worried about high impact damage let alone take harm from it. If only he could get him... pinned... Lee's eyes widen in realization.

Choji's and Ozo's style may be different in use, but they similar weaknesses as well. But unlike Choji, Ozo was much more maneuverable and 'armed.' It was a matter of timing at least...

Lee planted himself next to the arena wall and waited. Surely enough Ozo spotted him and took his shot. And another, and another. Each time Lee dodged and took his previous spot.

XVX

Genin booth

Naruto smirked in derived amusement much to the curiosity of the other Genin attentive, but was soon joined by two others, three actually but Shikamaru was more bored than amused at worst.

"I can't believe he's copying me," Temari chuckled to herself.

"It isn't original but it worked before," Tenten said, equally amused.

"All that remains to be seen is if it works or not," Shikamaru grumbled.

"No offense Tenten, but I was under the impression Lee was more of a fighter than a thinker," Naruto said.

Tenten smiled softly, "He has his moments."

XVX

Arena

Ozo launched himself at Lee once more. The wall, unable to handle the stress any more, gave way and crumpled under the impact as Ozo missed once more. Ozo growled in frustration when he failed to bounce away. He was stuck.

Lee blinked. That wasn't part of the plan, but it was good enough. Lee jumped back and got a running start at the stuck Mist Genin with what appeared to be his feet helplessly waddling in the air.

Rock Lee jumped into the air and sailed like a rocket towards the 'ball' with an outstretched leg aimed towards a unprotected spot of the boy. "Dynamic Knockout!"

Much like Choji when he faced Temari, Ozo dug deeper into the wall. Much Like Choji, he returned to his normal size, he was unconscious.

"Winner, Rock Lee!" Genma Shiranui, proctor of the final exam, yelled out to the cheering masses.

XVX

Hokage monument

"We see it over and over again but I still can't help but say it. Most of them are all flash and lacking skill," Kira idly commented as the duo looked down below at the altered arena.

Roderick never spoke a word.

"I'm kind of surprised your student entered these so called exams."

Roderick grunted in acknowledgement that time.

"Same could be said with your student."

Kira smirked.

The next match started between Temari and Shikamaru, a match they watched in idle interest. "You know, this kind of reminds me of the rituals back then. A lot more people watching however."

"And its out in the open, and they have powers that would be deemed mutagenic or chaotic in origin. and they have the luxury of leaving their enemy alive or not-."

"You're a killjoy, you know that?" Kira pouted with a playful frown. Roderick didn't respond.

"Nice to know some people take fights with a modicum of due seriousness."

Kira "hmmm..." softly as she looked down below.

"You know, one would think someone with a distinguished record of sixty years of service wouldn't be so soft hearted enough to do the things you do." Kira idly spoke.

"Eighty-four, and you make it sound like you're innocent compared to me."

Kira smirked, "I don't think being in the Guard for fifteen years and being declared a unique exception to some rules qualifies by a long shot."

"And being a Sister of Battle is a better exception?"

Kira rolled her lone visible eye.

She slowly turned her gaze to the over cloaked ex-Vindicare and sighed. "So why is it you never change your clothes to something more suitable?"

Roderick never glanced at her as he looked on to see Shikamaru throwing down a hand with Temari mimicking. "The way I see it, would be changing the truth of who I was and what I do. That is something I will not consciously do."

XVX

Genin booth

"That's just unyouthful of Shikamaru! Giving up at the cusp of victory he earned!" Rock Lee cried in shock and dismay. Temari grumbled to herself about "lazy idiots" as she ascended the ramp to the booth, passing Sakura as she made her way down it without a second glance as she inwardly smoldered at being... she couldn't even think of a word to describe it. Humiliated? Maybe, but not strong enough. Ultimately it did not matter in the near future, but still...

XVX

Arena

It was a minute after the match had begun and Sakura was backing up from the advancing horde of insects spewing forth from Shino's sleeves, she was fully aware of being surrounded with a wave circling around her to close off her escape.

Not that she was going to...

Shocking Shino, Sakura charged forward while flashing through a series of hand seals. She brings her hand up to her mouth and shapes a circle with her index and thumb and inhales. "Fire Release: Salamander's Breath!" A jet of fire roared to life from her lips and angled downward at the insects. Out of concern for their well being, Shino, and to a degree the insects out of free will, pulled back the literal army to give Sakura what she desired; Shino was open.

"I will admit it is a good strategy," Shino started in a monotone despite his situation, "but you lack the speed for it..."

Sakura stumbled and her world was spinning. She gritted her teeth when she felt Shino's bugs crawl up her leg from behind. He was right, they apparently latched onto her as she charged Shino. She was learning firsthand what Shino's bugs were capable of, chakra draining. Sakura feebly raised her hand and threw it down in submission, subsequently getting the bugs to retreat.

"Winner by forfeit, Shino Aburame!"

Sakura smiled and graciously took a hand offered from Shino to help her up.

XVX

Genin booth

"Gaara Taiyo and Naruto Uzumaki, please enter the arena," Genma's voice commanded.

Gaara disappeared and reappeared in a burst of sand from the both to the arena below. Naruto took a deep breath and made for the ramp.

A hand touching his shoulder stopped his descent. "Good luck, Naruto." Tenten said with a soft smile. Naruto looked up at her... and smiled back. Tenten's heart fluttered with excitement as her entire being fought the urge to gush over it. Her entire being soon switched from resisting the urge to blush to the urge to maim when Hinata snuck up to Naruto's side and capture his arm with her own pair. "Just be safe for me." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before he could turn to her.

Naruto had no defense when Haku got past the two kunoichi without being noticed and kissed him on the lips. "Just come back alive. That is what I ask," she whispered to him. She smiled a deathly sweet smile at the other two now enraged kunoichi when Naruto escaped at Might Guy record speed.

Off towards the back of the booth joined by Lee, Kankuro watched with ambivalent eyes. "Should I envy or pity a guy caught in a three way fight between girls who are more than capable of skinning a guy alive?" Kankuro half asked, half mused to himself. Lee had no answer as he was uncharacteristically backing away from the trio.

Temari and Shino somehow seemed to ignore the whole scene as they observed the two combatants below.

XVX

Kage booth

"Hmmm... I wonder how this would turn out," the Kazekage idly stated as he observed the two Genin staring each other down.

"I cannot say for certain, but I suspect this may be the most intense match yet out of the whole exam," the Hokage replied.

Below Genma started the match and got out of the way seconds before Naruto deployed a smoke bomb.

XVX

Arena

Gaara pierced through the dark cloud with a bullet of sand, nothing hit was made apparent when the sand bullet struck the wall and dissipated. A roar erupted from the cloud and a dragon of water with a murky inside burst out of the cloud, its course clear as it rushed at Gaara in its sudden rage.

Sand barriers were erected to impede the liquid dragon. Impede it did, but the dragon was not stopping as it muscled it way through each barrier albeit at a slowing advance with each impact. When the head finally reached Gaara and his last line of defense, Gaara gawked when the dragon broke apart and doused both him and his sand in a torrent of water; but what surprised him most was a fist slammed into his stomach, followed by a blow to his face to which the bone underneath cracked.

Though his supply of usable sand was heavily diminished, Gaara summoned just enough to force Naruto to retreat and form a protective barrier around himself. Gaara tasted something... foul, foul but familiar. He spat it out on his hand to observe what it was.

Gaara's heart stopped when he realized what it was. Blood. His blood. The Leaf Genin spilt his blood? No... impossible... Gaara spat out blood...

Naruto narrowed his eyes when the barrier crumbled and swarmed Gaara's entire body. His attention however was torn away when he sensed something else. Something he couldn't place a finger on that was occurring in the stands. A explosion struck the Kage's booth without warning, at least to Naruto. The other Sand Genin joined Gaara's side on the arena floor.

Naruto jumped back and drew both a pistol and a knife as he assumed the defensive. A quick glance towards all that he could see without turning his head told him that fights were breaking out all over the place and the audience was asleep, blissfully unaware of the multiple battles taking place between Sand, Leaf... and Sound shinobi?

The Sand Siblings retreated from the arena when Baki, their sensei, engaged Genma. "Oi, Naruto, take down Gaara before he does whatever he's doing. We'll handle things from here!" Genma shouted.

XVX

Arena roof

"I should have known better," Hiruzen mused to himself as he and his former student glared at each other while the latter arrogantly grinned. "Well, time does affect the mind horribly as I understand it. Does it not, _sensei_?"

Hiruzen scowled as he bit his thumb.

XVX

Konoha forest

Ten minutes did not even pass as Kankuro held off a Hyuga heiress and Shino. Between the roving army of bugs and the concise chakra attacks to the puppet's strings, Kankuro was hard pressed to do anything short of dodging and retreating further and further into the forest along his sibling's chosen path.

XVX

Temari gritted her teeth as she blocked another kick from the energetic taijustsu expert with her fan, adding another nice indentation of his foot along the flat edge. She and Gaara were forced to seperate when Naruto and Lee arrived, both breaking off to take them on individually and as Murphy's law would have it she was stuck with someone who specialized in the one area she was rather weak in; Rock Lee was not giving her a opportunity to wield her fan for its intended use in the relatively spacious lot that was the forest floor.

Neither seen or heard of their respective companions since they were seperated save for the roars of some kind of primal beast with human tones and the crack of both gunfire and explosions. It was unclear to them how the fight was progressing, they were only aware it was happening.

XVX

A twisted mass of sand with barely discernible parts of human body parts peeking out snarled at Naruto as he disappeared into the surrounding foliage.

Naruto wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth and glared the crazed Sand Genin. Even when wet, that sand was doing a good job in protecting the parts they cover, and as time was wasted more and more sand accumulated on Gaara. Naruto brought up a familiar cross shape hand seal...

Gaara flew back and destroyed a small tree as a high impact round buried itself in his chest. He snarled and tried to get up only to be assailed by another bullet that tried to take his head. Gaara roared and flung one of his Sand Shurikens at what he assumed was Naruto's position. The screech of a fast moving missile drew his attention above him to see something metallic meet his sand armored head.

Gaara was too stunned to acknowledge the third attack on his side till a second explosion in a row ripped into his heavily armored flank. Naruto had rushed out of a bush and soaked Gaara's side with a Water Bullet precursor to plunging a grenade into the dampened sand before leaping back into the leafy background.

Whether all the attacks actually wounded him was unclear, but it encouraged Gaara's already berserk rage to soar to new heights. "Die Uzumaki! DIE!" Gaara screamed, his voice already hoarse from previous shouts and roars.

Gaara's bizarre form grew to titanic proportions rapidly, easily dwarfing the entire forest and perhaps the nearby mountain rage as a Sand Tanuki with blue markings covering its body towered over all. The sudden change drew the gawking attention of all for the briefest of moments before they resumed their respective battles.

"Aw crap..." Naruto muttered to himself as he desperately searched for Gaara. Surely he had to be somewhere along the massive creature's surface.

"Feigning Sleep!" Naruto's attention turned to the head. He brought down his goggles and flicked it to life. Sure enough, Gaara was sticking out of the sand construct's head... and he was sleeping? The small riddle solved itself when the creature's body shuddered and moved on its own accord. The Tanuki grabbed its right arm and rolled the massive appendage around along its equivalent to a shoulder joint. It grunted and cracked it's 'neck' and took a very deep breath.

"Ha ha, I'm free! Let's see what there is to do!" It exclaimed eagerly.

A explosion erupted along its cheek and the Tanuki struck it as one would a mosquito. It blinked and turned its attention to a pair of dark teens, one of which was reloading a silver, or at least shiny, object with another object while the other one was doing... something. Whatever the other teen was doing, it was trying to stay in place as it held up a elongated rod that was bulky at the end. Whatever they were doing, the sand being couldn't have cared less. They just needed to die for the heck of it!

Sticking his tongue out in unnecessary concentration and swatted the spot the duo stood. To the human combatants, the impact was on par with a miniature earthquake. Bringing up his hand, the semi-released One-tail spied his hand for any trace of his victims. Seeing none he turned his attention to the pulverized land below. No bodies, no smears... stupid clones. They weren't any fun for him!

Before the Tanuki could contemplate about brooding he was surrounded by a circle of smoke, the unexpected turn of events easily catching him in surprise; especially when a giant scaly rope wrapped itself around him as he reeled back...

"Scaly rope?" The Tanuki thought. Blinking, his attention was brought down to some massive brown scaled creature coiling itself around him and pinning one of his arms to him. Before long it started constricting him as something jumped on top of his head and aimed for Gaara. The Tanuki growled and hammered on the deduced snake at the same time as numerous obstacles impeded the boarder's advance.

"Get the hell off me you giant belt!" The sand creature cried indignantly.

"I resent that you ugly sand castle," the snake hissed back. Its efforts to crush the growling Tanuki doubled.

Something jolted Gaara out of his self induced justsu slumber, that was made obvious when the Tanuki felt itself slipping back into the confines of his container. "Crap..." That was the last word uttered by the One-tail before his form was reduced to a gigantic pile of sand.

The colossal snake disappeared the same way it came, in a cloud of smoke.

XVX

Gaara gulped breath after breath to feed and calm his energy deprived body. He was vulnerable and he knew it. Unfortunately the most he could do in his current was grip the grass beneath him. But it didn't quell the terror in him. _He was vulnerable_. Even when he was a baby he was never like this.

His pulse kicked into overdrive when the boot of something made itself known. Gaara whipped his head and squinted at the dull sheen of a darkened grieve. His eyes travel up the familiar form of the person he had been trying to kill for the past hour, whose bandana seemed to have been lost to reveal short trimmed slightly spiky blond hair. Gaara locked eyes with what would be his dispassionate executioner as Naruto level a gun at his head. Gaara's heart pushed roaring blood into his ears as his fear soared to as great a height as his fury was not too long ago. Was this the day he would die?

Fate it seems had decreed not yet at least when a blur tackled Naruto to the ground. The two struggled briefly and Naruto came out on top of a now captive Temari. The gun was quickly leveled on the prone container of the One-tail, though Naruto's eyes bore into Temari's own pleading set as he had his armored forearm pinning her down.

Rock Lee bursts into the clearing and freezes, unsure of what was going on and how to proceed.

Naruto narrowed his gaze on the kunoichi under him. Temari however was strangely calm, even by her standards. "Most would question or at least wonder why their prisoner isn't resisting by now," she said solemn.

"Most would," Naruto replied.

Silence.

"I know you have no reason to... but please spare him."

No reaction. Rock Lee watched on with baited breath.

For less than a second, Temari thought she saw something in Naruto's eyes. A question? Perhaps...

"I will admit neither I nor our brother Kankuro have done much to be a proper sibling to Gaara. He suffered while we watched on, afraid that he would perceive as a threat or a attack if we made any move regarding him." Slowly but with a certainly, both her hands come up to the gauntlet and grips it along the forearm. "But all the wrong in the world that he can do in the world doesn't change the fact that I'm his sister, his family. Even if it holds no significance, I will try to defend my little brother where I know I can." The small creak of fingers gripping the gauntlet was like a pin drop in a quiet room. "Please... spare my brother..." She added quietly, her eyes downcast in acceptance of a bleak short lived future.

Time itself seemed to stop in the clearing. No wind blown by. No heartbeat was heard. No breath was taken.

Naruto stood up on his knees, then got onto his feet, and walked away without a word. He strayed near Gaara and stopped. He cast a lone eye down at the powerless awestruck boy and spoke only once. "Don't make us regret this."

He left the two behind, sparring not a glance or a hint of acknowledgement, with a wonderstruck Lee in tow.

Gaara just stared at the retreating form of Naruto Uzumaki, his mind and body at a loss even as his sister and later on brother joined him.

XVX

Konoha hospital

Hours passed by and the battle for Konoha ended with the defenders being victorious. The dead were counted, the wounded were treated, and the prisoners of war from Suna were being accounted for and aided accordingly.

Temari was bidding farewell to her brother for the night under supervision of a pair of Chunin and turned to leave the hospital room containing her chakra exhausted brothers.

"Temari." She stopped and looked back at Gaara in bewilderment. It was the first time he called out her name without a sense of doom upon her person.

"Thank you... sister."

Temari left the hospital in a daze, a ghost of a smile hinting at her lips.

XVX

Hotel Leaf's Shade

The female Jonin of Kiri carefully placed a black object inside of a plastic bag.

"Got to love the easy missions," her male counterpart commented from the side.

"Got to love repaying earned favors," she noted with a smile. She sealed the plastic bag and its content inside of a scroll and placed the scroll in a hardened case for added security.

XVX

In the next room the Mist Genin snickered at their fat comrade. "Went down like that Akimichi guy in the semi-finals."

"Shut up..." Ozo morosely growled from his curled up spot on the bed.

**A/N: Yep, Naruto has the snake contract. Originally I was going to use something along the lines of wolves but out of the two snakes are a lot more stealthy, and relatively pragmatic for a assassin, and makes more sense considering his relationship with Anko. Sure it would be nice to track down enemies and the like but snakes have a history of ambushing and supplying various poisons.**

**If you're wondering about my odd descriptions regarding the Naruto clones against the One-tail, I was pretty much writing from his point of view. There's bound to be one or two bijuu that aren't at least fully aware of guns in general.**

**And no, Ozo's abilities are similar to Choji's but they are not the same. Ozo relies on high speed impact caused by impact while Choji has more control in what he is trying to crush when he isn't provoked. Ultimately its comparing a bouncing ball to a bowling ball while both have a measure of control over themselves. If you're not sure why I say not the same, Choji has to control his body while Ozo has to literally inflate himself, much like a ball. Bowling ball vs. Bouncing ball once again. The idea came from mixing Choji's Human Tank justsu with Bellamy of One Piece's Spring-Spring powers.**

**With that said... aside from me still saying that I am still not going to answer questions regarding Mist.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Also as a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 14: Creeping Past...

Konoha

Depending on who was asked, the 'popular opinion' shifted dramatically. If a civilian was asked, it would seem impossible. Only a god or time itself was capable of doing such an act; it had to be a hoax.

If a shinobi was asked the answer was varied depending on the generation and knowledge of the one asked. An older shinobi of at least age forty would not be too surprised given the underlying facts of the situation. A shinobi around the age of twenty-to-thirty would be mixed on the subject given who it was. A teenager however usually lacked the experience to help defend themselves from a cold hard fact that had occurred during the invasion, the Hokage had died at the hands of Orochimaru the Snake Sannin; the funeral was today, and it seemed nature itself was to grieve with those that could the normal way.

The ones who couldn't went to the only places that could give off some semblance of them grieving, or at least paying their respect without visiting either the grave or the funeral just yet, to a bar or tavern to drink minus the cheer, praise, or bare minimum of the want to feel good if they went to nowhere else. As it stood, only a handful of shinobi were found in the various businesses as a whole across the entire village as they were isolated from everyone else or in small groups consisting of close friends or akin to it. Such was the case for Naruto and Zabuza as they silently sat in a tavern littered with various shinobi drinking for the same reason; the only difference was Naruto spent at least ten minutes to pay his respects before leaving the funeral.

Despite getting drunk and sleeping with his adoptive daughter, Zabuza had nothing against Naruto thus hadn't objected to buying the drinks to exploit a loophole to the barkeeper's code of ethics regarding Genin at Naruto's age; adult in the eyes of a military but still too young to drink by another man's opinion. It was always an amusing subject regarding alcohol to those with idle thoughts plaguing their minds, or were too tired to think about it in depth.

Whether Naruto was actually grieving or not about Hiruzen Sarutobi was a issue Zabuza cared little about as he drank another saucer of sake. The door opened, all those that could turned to see the newly arriving Kakashi Hatake moseying into the bar dressed in the same mourning attire as they were before returning to their respective positions and thoughts.

Wordlessly Kakashi joined the group in general by sitting at the counter by himself, where he also received a bottle and saucer of sake. He raised his cup up towards the clouded heavens outside the tavern, a action mimicked by semi-alert shinobi across the room. As one they drank.

XVX

In front of Naruto's apartment, three days later

"Is there a reason you're standing in front of my door?" Naruto asked, startling Temari out of her reverie. She turned to face the blond equipped with a new bandana matching the dark grey of his suit. In her hand was a note. Temari was at a loss for words for a moment before regaining her composure and tucking the note away into her dress.

"They're releasing everyone from Suna today; we're free to return home while negotiations continue regarding what is left of the alliance Konoha and Suna had..." She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Before going I was hoping to thank you for sparing my little brother and I when you had no reason to."

Naruto only responded in silence, not a uncomfortable silence but one that hadn't a reason to be broken. He however raised an quizzical brow when the kunoichi bowed to him. "Thank you," she said quietly. Naruto stepped out of the way as she stood up and walked to the stairs. Her hand grabbed the rail and she stopped. She looked back at Naruto before looking at the stairs.

"May I ask you a question?" She asked. A moment of silence ensued.

"Why did you let us live when it was your right to kill?"

She didn't turn when she heard Naruto approach his door and opened it. He took one step inside before finally responding. "I saw a choice and I took the one I could live with." The door closed, leaving Temari by herself in the junction between the stairs and the hallway.

A worn but warm smile took over her lips and her grip slackened on the railing. She never thought she would encounter someone more dangerous than her brother that had a heart. A blush heated her cheeks while she descended the stairs leisurely and a hand covered her own fluttering heart...

XVX

Elsewhere

Eyebrows twitched, fists were clenched, and tempers flared that made their respective loved ones flee. A new player entered their battle...

How they knew, they weren't sure nor did they care about it.

XVX

Meanwhile, Itachi Uchiha's apartment, Uchiha district

"I'm sorry but I cannot help you Lord Jiriaya," Itachi stated.

"Cannot or will not?" Was Jiriaya's irked response.

"Naruto is not someone you can order or entice with promises when he sees no reason to do what he whole heartedly disagrees with."

"If that's true then how did you get him to enter the exam when the popular consensus believed he would avoid it like the plague?"

"I didn't do either of those things with him."

"Uh-huh..." Jiriaya grinned and leaned closer, "Konoha's laws typically ban those under the age of sixteen to purchase my books. Could it be that he was a fan in dire straits?"

Itachi was slowly becoming less and less serious in favor of pinching the bridge of his nose since Jiriaya came knocking on his door to get Naruto to join him for some kind of mission. What it was, Jiriaya wouldn't say. But the conversation was becoming mentally and physically draining on the normally stoic Uchiha.

"As I understand it, Anko had enlisted Naruto's help in a operation against you during your 'research' trip. I highly doubt that Anko withheld her reasons to move against you." Jiriaya scowled a little... so Naruto wasn't a fan eh? Rats...

"Right... So-."

Itachi cut straight to the chase. "No."

Jiriaya scowled once again. "How about I tell you why I'm asking Naruto?"

"I'll consider it," Itachi passively replied.

Scratching the back of his head, Jiriaya sighed. "I managed to convince the council that I wasn't Hokage material, and since Tsunade is alive and well I was hoping to convince her to take the position. Considering our history, I think it would there would be a better chance if a more bright eyed youth could join me and get her to see a new light."

"There are plenty of Genin like that in Konoha, and considering your status there are few who can match against you in power and skill," Itachi countered.

Jiriaya sternly looked the Uchiha in the eye. "I know that. But considering Naruto's abilities, he is far more likely to live in the event we are attacked while looking for Tsunade."

"Yet you said in essence that you were looking for a bright eyed Genin to fit the bill," Itachi spoke pointedly. "Tenten Bell, as I understand, it has started to develop skills that can match Naruto. Wouldn't she fit your criteria better than Naruto?" The cogs and gears of Itachi's mind began to work overtime. Jiriaya was pushing to get Naruto, and only Naruto to join him to look for Tsunade.

They were all on the same side, more or less, but that was suspicious...

Jiriaya's frown deepened. "Yet does she take orders and follow them to the letter without pride getting in the way?"

"You would have to ask Might Guy, I do not know her on a personal level."

"You're not going to help me with Naruto are you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"I have yet to see a reason to help you."

Jiriaya pursed his lips in concentration. He came to this situation prepared alright since Naruto was proving himself difficult to find let alone talk to, but that didn't mean he wanted to divulge _too_ much information. Yet if he wanted any leeway... "Let's face it kid," Jiriaya sighed.

"I'm not getting younger, and if I die a good deal of techniques and secrets that could be useful later dies with me. I need an apprentice, and this search for Tsunade is a good opportunity to assess Naruto's capabilities to learn and handle them. Out of all the Genin that are still active till the roster for who is promoted into a Chunin gets out, Naruto seems to be the most likely to keep a level head on his shoulders over what I have to teach."

There was a slight narrowing of the eyes in Itachi as the two were deadlocked in their inadvertent staring contest.

"I'll talk to Naruto, but promise nothing."

Jiriaya smiled and nearly cheered, "Alright! Now that's more like it!"

In the time span of a blink, Itachi ended up with one of the Icha-Icha books in his hand much to his shock. "Take that as a form of compensation if the battle proves tough. I'll see you later!" Itachi blinked and Jiriaya disappeared.

Itachi blinked once more. He stepped over to his window and opened it and stuck both head and book laden hand outside of it, conveniently meeting Kakashi lounging about on the slanted roof that made up Itachi's windowsill with a Icha-Icha book in hand.

"Free Icha book?" Itachi offered, in truth he was going to through it out, but charity worked out as well.

"Hm? Sure I'll take it." Kakashi lazily reached over in the direction of Itachi's voice without looking and felt around till he claimed the article. He briefly look away from the book he was reading and thumbed it open.

"Aw... It's the same book that... I'm... reading..." His voice died down as he gawked, his dropped jaw making a clear outline in his patented mask.

The hand holding the newer book trembled along with his entire body following soon after. In the distance Itachi could've sworn her heard a chorus singing "Hallejuya!"

"It's... It's..." Kakashi in a flash stood up straight, taller than any man Itachi ever witnessed before, and proclaimed to the heavens with tears gushing out his visible eye and the eye covered by his mask. "IT'S A SIGNED COP FROM JIRIAYA HIMSELF!"

For the tiniest moment of human history in Kakashi's mind, there was peace on earth... till he heard that horrid howling that had tormented him for the past few months.

Itachi failed to brace himself when Kakashi slammed into him and drove the window shut from the inside.

"YOOOUUUUTH!"

That lone word piercing the walls shook the entire apartment complex to its wooden bones, scaring the living daylights out of the more civilian residents of the complex. Kakashi was huddled in the corner protecting his precious new book from all harm, even the hostile airwaves with a kunai somehow despite the laws of physics!

Itachi was standing in his own corner with twitching eyebrows set to the maximum power.

XVX

Three hours later, Yamanaka mental health clinic/flower shop

A amendment was added to the sign nailed to the door of the clinic. "Those freaked out by Itachi Uchiha's laughter or 'victimized' by Might Guy need not enter."

"Hey dad, isn't that being a little mean to people in need of help? Ino asked curiously with genuine concern.

"One day when you man the clinic, you too will learn," Inoichi wearily said as he brained another 'victim' of a small horde trying to enter the clinic with a broom.

XVX

Meanwhile, Women's hot spring

Jiriaya was grinning perversely as he jotted down another set of notes on the pad at hand as he assumed the position at the peephole. Though Konoha in general was still somber, it didn't mean that there was a lack of material to be obtained and used accordingly. Even romance novels need a sad scene now and then, and what better to draw from than real life? Naked women had nothing to do with it... for the most part... if he was being modest...

"I take it Anko's intervention was not enough to deter you from your favorite activities," someone said.

Jiriaya froze and slowly turned to the speaker. He grinned and waved dismissively, "Please, I suffered worse than that any day of the week. Besides, I'm a fast healer as you can see! So what may I do you for Naruto?" During the whole verbal excursion, Jiriaya was sizing Naruto up. Other than snippets of Naruto's apparel both with and without the bandanas, he never got a good look at the boy. A part of his soul froze when he noticed Naruto's eyes... they didn't belong to someone at his age. Being serious or allegedly serious was one thing, but that...

Jiriaya shook his head. It was probably a result from the kidnapping. It had to be. Who knows what sort of psychopath Naruto had to endure for three months.

In his own mind, Jiriaya was scratching his head. "Meh, he's Minato and Kushina's kid, if anything being able to shrug it off with only so much damage remaining isn't a unexpected miracle; it's in his blood!" He grinned to himself in the white domain his mind become for the occasion.

"He's aware of what the Fourth Hokage did to him..." Hiruzen's voice haunted his ears once again since he told him. Naruto being aware of his status as a container was one thing, it was the implication behind it. His late sensei had nothing against Minato or was being formal...

He always shuddered when he heard that encrypted warning.

Back in the real world, the elderly man's spirits perked up when he heard at least part of what he desired to hear. Albeit modified considering the situation at hand. "I heard you have been looking for me to assist you with Tsunade."

Jiriaya smiled a toothy smile. "That's right!" He exclaimed with the power of a man much younger than he is now. "You see, I need an extra pair of eyes and fresher set of senses. Tsunade is notoriously difficult to find let alone track and part of that is probably her learning my methods of tracking and-."

"The fact she owes a rather large number of people money from varying walks of life who are at least half as capable as your spy network when it comes to finding about certain facts and locating people."

Jiriaya's jaw dropped. That was certainly unexpected facts coming from a _Genin_ of all people. Then again it's not a difficult secret to learn for anyone and most likely would've been discovered after a few days worth of travel on their part... it was still disconcerting however.

"Yeah... Well, let's get ready. I'll meet you at the east gate at six in the morning." Much to his chagrin, Jiriaya had to abandon the peephole. Tsunade was just one of those few exceptions where work comes before pleasure... sans breaks of course. There were supplies to be gathered, information to be garnered, a training regiment to be planned, quite simple the works had to be in full swing.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to bring someone with us if we have to split up in a town to look for her."

Two seconds of quick thinking later produced a casual reply. "Just as long as it isn't Anko," the Toad Sage said with a hint of depression dabbed by a single drop of anxiety as he passed by the bandana wearing blond.

He older man left too quickly to notice Naruto's locked jaw in a response that wasn't voice to him. Naruto wasn't going to invite Anko to begin with since one, she already maimed Jiriaya, and two, she had a job to do in the Interrogation division. He was actually thinking someone from the Inuzuka clan like Hana Inuzuka for her skills in tracking and her abilities as a Chunin. Or someone from the Aburame clan with their insects to act as their less detectable eyes and ears, granted he only knew Shino and even then they were acquaintances at best. Part of him wanted to ask someone from the Hyuga clan... yet he did not want to add fuel to the fire in the off-chance that Hinata caught wind of his request for aid now that he could no longer deny three kunoichi were interested in him.

Yet a the concept of Anko joining, nay, the idea of someone with a grudge against Jiriaya... it was way too good to pass up. With a uncharacteristic skip in his step, he went off to find his friend/menace Anko...

XVX

On the road, the next day, eight-nineteen a.m.

Jiriaya inconspicuously looked over his shoulder in feigned interest of a passing merchant to glance at who Naruto somehow convinced to tag along... Kurenai Yuhi. Questions regarding her status as a instructor had been raised and deflected. Apparently Guy and Itachi were taking over her squad for a time, how that came to be was beyond the self proclaimed Super-Pervert.

What really got his goat was the fact that during the whole time they been together, since they left Konoha, she had been _smiling_ the whole time. There was no malice, there was no hint of a plot, there was nothing negative... she was _smiling_ as good old fashion smile. What sort of depraved monster would be so evil as to mentally torture their victims? Ibiki didn't count because it was his job. Same applied to Anko... to a lesser degree.

Naruto was at the back of the party enjoying Jiriaya squirm under Kurenai's... attention. He honestly had no idea about the real reason behind her apparent loathing of Icha-Icha when he came to ask Anko to help him enlist the genjustsu mistress in the 'hunt' for Tsunade. In her own words, "it pays to have friends," one never knew to expect in the future after all.

XVX

Meanwhile, Anko's apartment

Anko's one regret, aside from having Orochimaru as a teacher, in life was the fact she couldn't join her beloved friends in their quest to find Tsunade. When one managed to successfully piss off Kurenai, the only thing that separated her from being called a female clone of Ibiki, if he had hair, was the years of experience that separated the two.

The horrors Jiriaya would face in this trip... if only she could witness it!

Tears of regret conflicted with her laughs of pure bliss during the whole experience.

XVX

Back on the road

"What did I do to deserve this?! Just kick my ass and be done with it!" Jiriaya pleaded within the confines of his own mind, once again a white dome featuring Jiraya on his knees with his hands held up like a prisoner begging for leniency. The mental image of the third Hokage stood behind him patting his shoulder in a pitiful attempt to soothe him.

XVX

Two days later, Konoha café

A slightly hulking figure in terms of height adorned in a straw hat and a black cloak with red clouds with a bandage covered word strapped to his back wolfed down on a dango stick as his similarly dressed partner calmly sipped the last dregs of tea. Due to the weakened state of the village and overall chaos to put on a strong front, getting inside was easier than it should have been. But it seemed to be a wasted effort as their target wasn't inside the village for some reason, it didn't mean however that there was nothing to track him by. Jiriaya wasn't the sole proprietor of the spy networks littering the Elemental Nations.

The two finished their respective meals and left without a word, the small clatter of cash and coins of their payment the only herald to their discontinued interest at the café and proof that they were there.

XVX

Twenty minutes later, River path

Both of the cloaked beings abruptly stopped long before Asuma leapt out from the cover of the trees armed with a pair of trench knives, neither of the cloaked figures deigned to look behind them when another figure appeared behind them.

"Sorry, but both of you are to come with us. You both have entered this village illegally-." Asuma dodged to his right, narrowly evading a water bullet tearing into the tree that was behind him. A crack of the tree breaking pierced the air, followed by the domination rumble and crash of the destroyed tree hugging the dirt now. If Asuma was fazed, he wasn't permitting himself hint it at the grinning sharp toothed menace in front of him reaching for the bandaged sword's hilt.

"And here I thought we weren't going to see any action," he gruffly stated with glee as he shrugged his sword free.

"I'd rather not waste time in this village more than necessary Kisame," his more soft spoken partner said, revealing herself as woman but not much else as she turned to face her own adversary, Itachi Uchiha.

"Oh I never get to have any fun..." Kisame grumbled as he stared down his shocked opponent after taking off his hat. His grin became more vicious as he realized his reputation was not unheard of to the bearded man in front of him. He cricked his neck left to right. "Let's get started shall we?"

Kisame launched himself with his sword brought to bear down on Asuma. Another tree suffered the fate of being Kisame's target when Asuma got out of the way once again. Asuma gritted his teeth when Kisame literally tore his sword through the tree to give Asuma firsthand knowledge what it was like to be on the receiving end of it. Hand seal after hand seal occupied his hands while the bandaged sword drew closer in a horizontal swing to pin him to a tree.

Asuma dropped to the ground low enough to dodge the sword and brought both hands to his mouth in a human megaphone-like position. "Fire Release: Dragon's Breath!" A torrent of flame erupted from Asuma's mouth, licking both Kisame Hoshigaki and Asuma's hands in angry waves of fire. A brief smudge of satisfaction battled the pain when he heard the yelp of pain and surprise from Kisame.

Dragon's Breath was the bigger brother of Salamander's Breath, considering the wider radius offered by the dragon version, it was more dangerous than a jet of flame to the user and the enemy should the user not exercise enough control or caution over it. The two most common injuries at best found on a experienced caster would be either singed mouth, more specifically the lips, or hands such as Asuma's case was. A consequence Asuma was forced to live with when Kisame emerged from the flames looking more eager to spill blood, at best only looking worse for wear with a equally singed face and hands, the cloak was apparantly fireproof from the lack of burn marks. How Kisame only had minor damage from the flames was a mystery Asuma had to solve later as he jumped back.

Before Asuma had a chance to react, Kisame formed a series of one-handed seals as he swung the sword back for some reason he couldn't see. "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" Asuma sent chakra by the pound into his trench knives and brought them up in defense against the water shark bearing down on him with jaws wide open.

Asuma failed to withstand the impact alone and went flying back when a blade was caught by the bandaged sword. Kisame turned his head and grinned at the newcomer of the brawl. "How many years has it been since we last saw each other Zabuza, six? Seven years?"

Zabuza grinned back under his bandage mask, "Sorry, I haven't really been keeping track."

During and up to that point, the more mysterious partner of Kisame and Itachi had been deadlocked in a staring contest. Neither taking interest of what Asuma, Kisame, and now Zabuza were doing the entire time as the fight continued.

Without warning, the woman whipped out a rather broad kunai and flung it at Itachi. He ducked and charged the woman with his ninjato drawn, his pace hesitant only once when the thrown kunai exploded behind him. The woman didn't raise any form of blade or even an arm to defend herself, merely content to evade jabs, thrusts, and swings of the sword and hand. She jumped back, a action mirrored by Itachi when he spotted a broad kunai sticking out of the ground in the spot she was in but seconds before. It too exploded; Itachi landed on the railing guarding against careless bystanders from falling into the river below and pulled out a brace of kunai tied with explosive tags.

The cloaked and hat-wearing woman charged Itachi, more so to evade the rigged kunai rather than to attack. The kunai exploded and flung debris in their fiery fury, said debris pelted Zabuza when he was sent hurtling past the cloaked woman by Kisame whose attention returned to Asuma.

Zabuza growled and landed on his feet. He barreled past the two to get back in the fight with Kisame, taking a complementary swing at the woman as he passed by. The woman ducked and took advantage of the impulsive move much to Itachi's annoyance; she stuck a leg out and spun as she ducked under the giant butcher knife. Itachi had no defense against the sudden tactic, especially when two hands that grabbed him by his vest and tossed him towards the wooded portion of the battlefield; much to the surprise of the two, Itachi's flying body as intercepted by a flying Kisame while he was clutching his face with one hand while snarling.

"Might Guy, here to assist you!"

The woman jerked her head to the now three opponents standing where Kisame used to be. They spread out and charged at her, and subsequently, Kisame's position. They wasted not a thought when they spotted a frown on the woman's lips, they did however tense when she grabbed the rim of her hat and lifted it up just enough to reveal her lidded eyes...

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." It was as soft spoken as the first time she spoke up since the encounter.

She opened her eyes to reveal a dojustsu... the Uchiha dojustsu, the Sharingan. But what confused them before they were sucked into a world of darkness and varyinf shades of grey were two things. The first was tomoes where replaced with stubby curved serrated blades numbering to three that centered around a dot, the second was that the normally red iris portrayed by all Uchiha using the Sharingan was a dark ocean blue, the kind seen at the darkness of night when the moon was out.

Nearby, Kisame bashed the forehead of Itachi's skull with the back of his elbow to knock him out of not kill and went to join the fight once more, only to find the Jonin frozen in place. A glance to his partner confirmed what he suspected, they were trapped in the Tsukuyomi... he grinned, no skin off his back. Shame they were most likely to retreat though considering his partner's attitude and there is most likely a small army of Anbu after them by now.

The three men dropped with pained groan as they clutched perceived wounds on their bodies and the apparant unique Uchiha covered her gaze with the hat. Without any form of signal, they body flickered out of the battlefield to a more safe location before aid came to the scene.

XVX

the two reappeared some distance away from the walls of Konoha. Kisame grabbed his nose and fiddled with it much to the disgust of his partner as he set the cartilage back in place. "Bloody green bastard broke my nose," he grouched.

"Let's just get going already."

Kisame grunted an affirmative, his hand never leaving bloodied nose.

XVX

Chozu, four days since leaving Konoha

Jiriaya slept with one eye staring at the perpetually smiling woman haunting his every move at one-thirty-two in the afternoon. He had yet to get a peaceful hour's rest since he realized Kurenai was yet another kunoichi who he wrote about, much like Anko... it wasn't his fault he was presented a opportunity brought about by foolish youth! It would've been the greatest crime ever to his army of fans if he didn't write about it!

Unfortunately he had to reap what he had sowed, what made it worse was Kurenai had yet to make a move against him and he could swear he heard Naruto snickering about it when he wasn't really paying attention. If he was actually awake, he would've realized the Kurenai he was staring at was actually a genjustsu placed upon a bag which she had left in place so she would ask around town for the whereabouts of Lady Tsunade along with Naruto to make sure Jiriaya didn't miss anything either out of weariness, actual neglect, or failed to consider asking/looking for when he met up with his contacts.

All evidence at this point lead towards Tankatzu town, a three day trip from Chozu. Joy...

Until then, Jiriaya was forced to sleep where and when he can. He was much too tired to even consider training Naruto thank to the devil in women's clothing...

Unfortunately this hour was not one of those times where sleep was given to him by the grace of whatever god that pitied his case when the other eye flew open when a explosion ripped throughout the forested outskirts of town, conveniently near enough or powerful enough to reach the inn they were staying at.

XVX

Forest

Kisame snarled as he took another swing towards the boy's legs. He was a quick twerp, he'll give him that. But grenades, explosive tags, and any other manner of explosive that can be planted or left active on the go was seriously testing what patience he had left.

He and his partner managed to caught up to the boy in town before he tried to ditch them there as he made his way to the forest, it was a mix between dumb luck and tracking that they even chasing him now. More accurately he was chasing the boy when some black haired kunoichi from Konoha came to help the bandana wearing punk and his partner stayed behind to deal with her. If intelligence was even half right, then Jiriaya was at least close by. He wouldn't put it past the kid if those explosives were actually a signal for help rather than half-assed attempts to kill him or at least slow him down. Time was running out either way.

If circumstances weren't what they were, he'd have used lethal force by now aside using Samehada to try to knock the legs out from under the kid.

The dark clad shinobi bounded away when Kisame felt an all too familiar fist knock the back of his head. Well at least they didn't have to account for the kunoichi from Konoha now...

"Calm down and stand watch," his partner hissed as she briskly walked past him.

Kisame grumbled as he attended to the growing lump to his head as his sentient sword added its two scents in... by laughing at him. "Oh how I hate you sometimes..." He grouched to no one in particular. His sword was unabated. Neither aware of the shadow lurking from a tree behind the two.

XVX

Meanwhile in front of Konoha

A cloaked figure walked toward the gate with every ounce of urgency and excitement that could be mustered. Clutched in a slender hand was a headband with the Leaf plate attached and a black piece of cloth, both were gripped caringly. A warm but pained smile graced the woman's lips as she wearily looked up looked up at the familiar gate. Her mind noting that it would've been a ironic homecoming if she was but a few days early where it was the anniversary of everything that went wrong. Fourteen years...

A sorrowful tear trailed down her cheek. Fourteen years, or rather thirteen, where she never thought to look back at this place till those traders from Wave showed up...

XVX

Forest

Naruto slammed another clip into the AGR and resumed the offense/defense against the other person dressed like Kisame, questions as to why they were interested in him forced to be at the backburner for now. He had to deal with the now, and the now was kicking his ass without even touching him. He was even forced to reveal his means to carry the virtual armory he had at his command; seals etched into the inside of his breastplate. Though he had to remind himself time from time which one was which, it was a convenient way to carry his weapons and ammo around. Until today, no one really knew where he kept those weapons without the use of scrolls.

Not that it was doing much for him at this point. He was trapped, though whoever it was that kept him in the exact same area has yet to try to harm him, he wasn't leaving any time soon. And it may have been the adrenaline rush fading away, but part of him started to feel sluggish...

XVX

Konoha, southern gate district

Kakashi happily flipped through another page of his autographed copy of Icha-Icha. He had been walking on sunshine despite the recent 'attack' on Konoha from two rogue shinobi. Thankfully no one died but the sobering news wasn't going to bring him down.

He idly glanced up at a passing figure and went back to his book. He blinked and looked up at the cloaked figure.

"Nah." He returned to his book. It couldn't be, she died years ago.

XVX

Forest

Naruto dropped to his knee as he failed to escape. His mind berating himself for not noticing that the area was rigged with seals designed to sap away his strength, he lost the ability to stand and even now the prospect of escaping dimmed when he noticed an extra set seals glowed to life when he tapped into the fox's chakra.

It was then his current tormentor stepped out of the shadows, not once scratched throughout the encounter. She took her time with carefully measured steps toward the vulnerable container of the Nine-tails.

XVX

Konoha

The woman removed the hood of her cloak and let long locks of red hair spill out, earning the attention of several individuals throughout Konoha from the street to the roofs.

The woman looked up at the Hokage monument and smiled a bit bitterly. "I'm home," she said softly.

XVX

Forest

Naruto hoped against hoped that what he saw was some kind of delusion when his assailant removed her hat. A beggar's last comforting thought before death finally descends on the poor soul. Some sick demented ploy aimed to rattle his cage and deprive him of the ability to survive...

Yet on the instinctual level, he knew it wasn't false... there wasn't a means to replicate a natural born dojustsu with a specific mutation that set them apart from all the others.

There wasn't a way to duplicate the sad but warm black eyes that morph into a dark ocean blue set Sharingan eyes.

The worn smile...

She reached out and drew the helpless blond, with or without the seals, into a hug. Weakly, Naruto returned it.

The unique Uchiha reached up and dug her fingers into his hair under the bandana and combed it while his eyes grew heavier.

XVX

"I'm sorry Naruto, for everything I put you through." Jiriaya and Roderick stared at their respective persons of interest incredulously at this turn of events.

**A/N: This one is really aimed at Trooper0007 and those like him, draw your own conclusions. I refuse to give out information of work that has yet to be revealed upon asking, its a whim thing for me.**

**And yes, even more twists! I will admit, the new Uchiha on the scene is a OC born out of necessity, originally hoping to garner Dirty Reid's OC Sarabi Uchiha from ****_Master of Puppets, Demolition Chief_****. Since I haven't heard back from him long before I start on this chapter, I am operating under the assumption he has either ignored me or gave me a back pocket no. Either way, I was one Akatsuki member short. So my own OC! Yes, I already have a name.**

**You know the drill by now...**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**Also as a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up justsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 15: Blue moon, phases of the moon

Mikoto Uchiha's home, Konoha, four days since the Akatsuki ecounter

Thought the latest news around the presumed dead wife of the Fourth Hokage was the hot topic for every gossip monger and news chaser in the village, it was not a subject broached in the home of the Matriarch and head of the Uchiha clan. Not out of spite, but out of a more serious matter at hand.

"Burūmūn, I name I never thought I'd hear again. I suppose we should take her name off of the gravestone in her honor at the cemetery," Mikoto morosely spoke as she bitterly drank her tea in front of her remaining shinobi son and the commander of the Anbu. A poorly stocked folder containing the picture and unusually brief description of the woman sat on the table between them.

In the picture was a obviously younger woman than the one now but there wasn't too much difference outside of visible age markers. Her face was pleasantly rounded, yet slightly taut around the cheeks. She had the classic monikers associated with the Uchiha clan such as the black hair and black eyes. A beauty mark sat contently at the corner of her left eye, easily drawing attention due to her pale complexion.

"What I can tell you about her as pretty much no different than what's in her file. She largely kept to herself and avoided as many missions as she could that involved deliberate killing. Her mutation of the iris made her a bit of an outcast in the clan. We all believed she died in the massacre three years ago when we found her body. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to hear she was alive since her body was one of the few missing from their graves." Mikoto consumed the last of her tea and reached out for the nearby pot, pouring herself another cup.

"Wasn't she a candidate for being the clan head years ago when Kuhaku Uchiha died from natural causes?" The commander intoned.

Mikoto nodded, "She was. But as you know, Fugaku won out. Burūmūn, as I said, largely kept to herself. My late husband was more well known than her, and the hard liners deemed her weak for her unwillingness to take a life when it could be avoided." She scoffed.

"I may not know her on a personal level, but she is more than capable of reaping lives if she wanted to. The most popular rumor as to why she never liked to shed blood was that she killed one of her teammates by accident during a mission in her Genin days after the war was over."

"That is what happened I'm afraid," the commander said. He pointed to a small section of the few documents that made up Burūmūn's file. "It was a C-Rank mission that was upgraded to an A-Rank when a team of rogue shinobi were hired to raid a traveling caravan when her team destroyed a bandit checkpoint. She burned one of her teammates to death when one of the rogues body switched to avoid the fireball technique. She underwent therapy when the mission was completed and they returned."

Mikoto grimaced. She most definitely did not want to meet the shinobi who could walk away from that kind of experience with a smile.

"But considering those factors, it would come across as odd for her to slay off a portion of the Uchiha clan..." Itachi half suggested.

Mikoto wearily looked at her remaining shinobi son. Could he take it? She looked over to the commander who merely nodded. She closed her eyes and drank from her tea once more.

"I can only think of one reason," she said. "When push came to shove, she will get her hands dirty to defend someone she's close to or believes she has no choice in the matter for the sake of the greater good." Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"Father was more than a advocate of the belief that the Uchiha clan was superior wasn't he?"

Mikoto rests her elbows on the table and allowed her head to be flushed with her open palmed hands. "Save for a handful. all those who were killed were part of a now dead conspiracy to overthrow the Hokage."

Itachi said nor done nothing while the information sunk in. "I see..." He croaked out. He slowly got up and left the duo to themselves.

He was not seen by anyone for the next several hours.

XVX

Namakaze Estate

"Don't expect him to come back with open arms and a smile. He isn't like you or Minato." With that, Anko Mitarashi left the room uncharacteristically serious in both the way she moved and looked. Everyone with a sense of self preservation stayed out of her way.

XVX

Chozu outskirts, road to Tankatzu, two days after the Akatsuki attack

Kurenai worriedly looked on at the moody at worse Genin Naruto, he hadn't been himself since the attack. All she could gather was it involved that kunoichi in the black cloak with the red clouds. What confused her most was the seemingly conflicting stories told by a reserved Naruto and a boastful Jiriaya. Jiriaya would claim that his legendary skills scared her off the minute he became known after destroying the seals imprisoning Naruto. Naruto...

"She only backed off because I wasn't in danger."

He was familiar with his attacker? If so, then what was their relationship beforehand?

Whatever the reason, they had to stay in town for another day to replenish their stock, or rather Naruto's stock, of weaponry and ammo as well as get Kurenai checked for any fraction or broken bones by a professional doctor; there were none but it pays to be cautious. The only sense of normalcy that returned was the terror campaign with Jiriaya on the receiving end of it, though not with the same passion as before and suffered accordingly... Jiriaya was able to sleep for three-to-six hours at a time now, especially since he figured out about one of their bags was booby trapped with a genjustsu.

XVX

Even with a distracted and depressed soul laden with grief alongside a iota of relief, Naruto was able to dodge Jiriaya's attempts to get close to him both figuratively and literally for training purposes. Itachi's warning of Jiriaya having a hidden motive played a part, but the real reason was he just wanted to be alone. He could recall a day he felt this tired, he smirked, but that day was centered around a lie that was dispelled. His sole consolations was knowing that the only person in his family was alive, and a note clutched in his hand that became harder to read as the sun sets for the day.

He wearily looked up and over his shoulder, spotting Kurenai leaning against a tree smiling serenely at him from a respective distance between the two.

XVX

Namakaze Estate, Konoha

"Please excuse me, believe my time should be spent preparing some modicum of training for my students regarding the rogue shinobi encounter that occurred days ago."

Itachi Uchiha left the room at a brisk pace. His mind muddled with fact after fact was being piled up: The puppet perpetrator of the Uchiha massacre. Kushina Uzu-... Namakaze was alive and well and was the mother of Naruto Uzumaki... or was Namakaze more appropriate to address him now? He'll have to cross that bridge when he gets there. Regardless, his father and a group of Uchiha plotted to take over Konoha by force. Last but not least, two S-Ranked rogue shinobi breaking into Konoha for reasons unknown... well not entirely unknown if he was half right.

According to her file, Burūmūn had no close family despite being the member of his clan. Years of disparagement regarding her unusual Sharingan, orphaned status from the last war, and the incendiary yet accidental death of her teammate turned her into a recluse living at the very edge of the Uchiha clan's kands; it was also suspected herMangekyō Sharingan resulted from her teammate's death when there were no records of this ability anywhere else, and it was highly doubtful she could meet the requirements to gain it as a rogue kunoichi. No parents, no siblings, no husband, no lover, no children... according to official documents.

Being a former Anbu captain had its perks, especially when one left on good terms with his more hidden comrades in arms. He was permitted to read or look at certain items of interest in the investigation regarding the rogue Uchiha. Namely her personal journals cataloguing her thoughts and life found under the floorboards of her former home with a genjustsu seal on them for added protection.

It was what one could expect starting from the hopes and dreams of a young girl in the Uchiha clan to the more sparse idle thoughts of a woman nearing her late twenties, but four indiscretions marred it. The first being the day she activated her Sharingan a month after being placed in a Genin team, shocking her team and later her clan when her eyes did not take up the legendary red of the but a dark ocean blue. From there it was recorded that her clan slowly started to drift away from her, leaving her team the closest thing to family.

Then the second discretion happened, seven months after her eyes were activated her team received a C-Rank mission to escort merchants laden with farmer equipment meant for the farmers of the Land of Fire's north region. They destroyed a bandit camp barring access to everyone who refused to pay their toll to use the pass it was located. The survivors of the incident hired a team of rogue shinobi out of revenge and to distract the leaf shinobi team while they sacked the caravan, or at least they tried to. During the chaos of a ambush, Burūmūn noted she was over eager, confident, and ripe to be taken advantage of in the fighting as she faced a rogue shinobi from Iwa. She tried to roast him in a grand fireball technique without paying heed to her surroundings, and a teammate paid the price when the rogue Rock shinobi switched places with the hapless Genin.

For a full year her set of journals was left alone on account that she checked herself into the Yamanaka clinic for mental evaluation and recovery.

Eventually she started to write into it in full force again at the pace of a few months at a time, most of which she wrote about her reoccurring nightmares of that incident and the distancing of herself and her team; not to be unexpected for a dire foolish mistake. It was after a few months of this she declared to make it to Jonin so she could, quote, "have enough power to ensure I have enough say to which mission I can partake in while collecting enough money to retire."

At age sixteen she achieved her goal, just in time for the Nine-tails attack. Her duties weren't specifically related but it seemed to entail guarding the civilians from anarchists that sprouted up in the chaos to get to the shelters. Itachi heard about it, people who believed their death was coming regardless of what safety was guaranteed that would act out their desires from looting to murdering those they hated amongst other things.

Then there was the third discretion. For a time the writings dwindled back down to a page or so every few months mentioning brief moments of life or a mission. A sudden changed happened which raised questions for everyone; she had a son? Not once till the end did she specifically declare a boy she had found wandering the streets at night in rags as her son, though she not once mentioned his name.

Actually, it was rather curious to read it. It was as if she deliberately avoided his name, only hinting to his identity after the first few entries as a concerned woman as they slowly morphed into... well, a concerned and sometimes doting mother. If Itachi had to look at it objectively, it was probably born out of the need for companionship that she had became deprived of over the years.

The fourth discretion... courtesy of Danzo Shimura three years ago. According to the journal, he caught wind of the Uchiha rebels plotting a coup d'état...

In a way it was sad as it was predictable, a mother protecting her son from a threat by becoming a murderer for someone else.

As his mother said, she was assumed dead when her body was found amongst those massacred. Either Danzo provided a doppelganger or it was a blood clone, a flesh and blood version in the clone making arsenal, left behind to fool the grief stricken victims.

Considering her status as a rogue kunoichi and part of a possible organization now if the matching cloaks were an indication, granted her amnesty on the account of Danzo's imposed will would be difficult at best.

However one question however was firmly planted in Itachi's mind however as he roamed the halls. "Who does Burūmūn Uchiha consider a son?"

XVX

Grassy plain, second day of travel

Jiriaya sat in stunned silence atop a rock in a clearing, his face as deadpanned as his mind was at the moment. He wasn't really sure what shocked him more, that Naruto was aware of the Akatsuki before he had told the boy or that he already _mastered_ the Rasengan on his first attempt. The swirling chakra ball of created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namakaze, spent three years to create let alone master its 'incomplete' version since it was ordinary chakra being used; elemental versions were still in the works. It took Jiriaya at least a year to master it on his own accord... Naruto did it in a day...

A small burst of wind bustled by. "It's not fair..." Jiriaya whimpered with tears streaming down his cheeks.

XVX

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Anko see you use that technique once?" Kurenai asked a more lively Naruto compared to his mood yesterday.

"Was testing it on a rock to see what it was capable of. I didn't wish to use it on anything else without some idea of its capabilities," Naruto said as he was reassembling his favorite rifle.

Kurenai perked an eyebrow. "But isn't the Rasengan one of the Fourth's personal techniques?"

"Jiriaya learned it, didn't he?"

"You know what I meant."

Naruto didn't respond as he switched from the AGR to the pistol he constantly carried around. Under a minute it was just parts.

Kurenai sighed and leaned back against her propped up bag and knapsack combined in a small pile. She already knew Naruto had issues with the Fourth Hokage, but it was still infuriating when he promptly ignored if not evaded a question regarding the late Hokage. In retrospect, it's not a surprise to carry some kind of grudge for being made a bijuu container that was despised for a number of years since the day they were born. It was still rude though, but understandable if one stopped to think about it. If she didn't know better, she would've guessed that was why Naruto and Anko were friends, though for differing reasons, they got screwed by someone else for life.

"So how're you and Asuma doing lately?" Kurenai blushed both in agitation and embarrassment.

"Fine. We're doing fine," she said as calmly as possible.

Minutes of silence ensued accompanied by the soft clicks of a pistol being reassembled.

Holstering his weapons, Naruto got up and started walking to the silhouette that was Jiriaya. "Remember, Anko wants to be the maid of honor." He easily went out of range of the rock Kurenai threw at him before it even came close.

The red eyed Jonin shook her head and settled herself back on her improvised pillar, her mind flitting back to the conversation the night before. It was something to see to believe, Naruto depressed let alone worn out... but how else would someone act when they're by themselves after learning their mother was alive and well, but forced to live as a criminal out to get you when observed?

"Akatsuki, why do they want the tailed beasts?" Kurenai asked herself.

XVX

Namakaze Estate, Konoha

Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously... why did it have to be his luck to inform his late sensei's wife about her son's abduction years ago and the one responsible for it was never caught?

XVX

Outsider's Pub, Tankatzu town, noon

They just arrived at the first bar for the mixed purposes of eating, resting, drinking, and finding Tsunade. Jiriaya was the only one indulging himself with drinks however. Other than the Rasengan, he had no luck in teaching the bandana wearing blond anything between being avoided by the Genin andbeing stumped at Naruto's remarkable ability to use the Rasengan on the first try... if only he knew the truth behind that.

Regardless, he wanted to get drunk and get drunk fast. Hopefully it would drown out the shame he had to endure from the trip, or at least get it just as drunk as he planned to be. That'll teach it for making him feel bad...

Jiriaya blinked. "I must be losing my mind..." He grumbled to himself.

The elderly man nearly bolted out of his chair when he felt Kurenai's hand tugging on his clothes without warning. He turned and gaped at the reason the kunoichi was drawing his attention for.

Jiriraya could almost laugh about their fortune.

XVX

Eastern Park, Konoha

Ino sighed as she leaned on the all too familiar bench joined by her recently reestablished best friend, Sakura. For the past few days Sakura had taken it upon herself to talk to Ino to end her quest to end obtains Naruto's affection, and she was making progress.

"So I can't compete with Hinata, Tenten, or Haku in skill. I still have my looks!" For emphasis, she brushed a hand through her locks of blond hair.

"Aside from their own looks, Hinata has the money, Tenten the skills, and Haku has the time," Sakura countered.

Ino scowled a little. "I'm from a clan, and what better way to be better known and protected than in a clan?"

"It also makes him a bigger, more readable target if you asked Naruto and Hinata is from a clan herself," Sakura intoned.

"Oh what is with you about Naruto and I?" Ino partially screamed as her hands went to wrestle with the threads of her hair in frustration.

Sakura's eyes tilted downward in a downcast fashion. "I honestly don't know if Naruto will ever willingly be with someone else. Haku and everyone else seem to be set on him and... I just hoped that maybe, just maybe I could save you from what I felt after seeing Sasuke for what he is if it doesn't pan out for you..."

Ino sighed. Even Sakura admits Naruto wasn't like Sasuke, but did it really seem farfetched about her being with him?

XVX

Outsider's Pub

"No." Tsunade flatly said with certainty.

Jiriaya sighed and glanced towards Kurenai and Naruto. Kurenai seemed impassive about Tsunade's rejection, she didn't give any form of a hint to her thoughts or mood. Naruto seemed to ignore the entire conversation in favor of the paltry bar food he and Shizune seemed to have accumulated while they weren't looking.

"Tsunade..." Jiriaya started, only to be interrupted by the blond in front of him. "No."

"Could you-."

"No." She reached over and plucked the sake cup, abandoning the saucer all together as she drank her beverage of choice. He swallowed the last dreg of the alcohol. "Hokage is just nothing but a fool's position. Anyone who aspires to it only dies at the end. My grandfather died, my granduncle died, Nawaki died, Dan died, and now Hiruzen-sensei died. What point is there to being a Hokage?" She drawled.

Jiriaya wanted to groan but feared he'd make things worse...

"Were they farmers?"

All heads turned to Naruto either curiously or incredulous speculation dominating their reason to do so.

Naruto snacked on a sushi roll without turning to meet their glances. "Were they carpenters?"

Jiriaya, Kurenai, and Shizune raised a curious eyebrow. None able to draw a conclusion to Naruto's tactic in play.

"Were they florists?"

Tsunade was starting to get annoyed. What was he getting at?

Naruto took a drink from a cup of water. "No?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Each and every one of them were shinobi before they died. What is your point?" Tsunade answered and asked irritably.

"Tell me, what does a shinobi _do_?" Naruto asked without looking, his attention still on the food.

"They protect people. They do missions. They-."

"Kill people for a living." Naruto finished. Before Tsunade could retort he spoke up again, "Killing people would imply conflict. Conflict implies that there are people trained or willing to fight to the death if not to settle a matter. Farmers don't fight when given a reason not to, neither does a carpenter or a florist. Tell me, is a shinobi a farmer? Carpenter? Florist? Blacksmiths? Merchants?"

Naruto finally locked sights with Tsunade, taking full advantage of her temporary shock of the action. "A shinobi's life, a mercenary's life, quite frankly, anyone's life who is trained for battle is conflict. When people fight, people die regardless of the ideal or flag they fight for. Genin to Hokage, they fight then they are likely to die. If you don't like the concept of death then you shouldn't be a a kunoichi. If you are going to be a kunoichi grow up; if you still have a problem with it, get better so less people die. Hesitation will only lead to problems."

Tsunade stared at her with him jaw dropped, much like the others as they gaped at the bandana wearing boy with only minor details joining their shocked appearances. Jiriaya was slowly edging away from the table to readily escape. Kurenai and Shizune were awestruck by the audacity that Naruto just lectured Tsunade... Tsunade just couldn't believe the gall the Genin had to adress her like a teacher and student. It was so astonishing that she failed to react when Naruto got up and left the bar without any form of maiming.

XVX

Outside of Tankatzu town, three-twenty-nine p.m.

The surrounding area was nothing short of a battlefield, minus the corpses or copious amounts of blood. At the center of it all was a enraged Tsunade venting her wrath on the ground, the scene and lecture from the Genin playing in her mind over and over again. Off to the side at a safe distance was Shizune worriedly looking on with Tonton, their pet pig, stayed in the safety of the younger woman's arms.

"Who's he to lecture me about being the path of a shinobi?!" Tsunade half roared in the melee between her fists and a unfortunate boulder unable to withstand the onslaught. It was rubble under five seconds before a dead tree was attacked.

Shizune frowned from her spot as another tree became matchsticks. Lady Tsunade had been at this for hours since the bar incident, only taking a few minutes at a time for breaks in between the hours...

She took a deep breath and marched towards Tsunade when she collapsed onto her knees once again.

"Lady Tsuande..." Tsunade tiredly looked up at her concerned, frowning apprentice as she panted beneath her.

"I'm alright, just let me catch my breath..." Tsunade said between gasps.

Moments past as silence ensued between pants. Tsunade finally pushed herself up and rolled her arms.

"I'm going to be sore for awhile..." Tsunade grumbled loudly.

She looked over to see Shizune dejectedly looking at the ground between them. "Is something wrong Shizune?" Tsunade asked, her tone calm but slightly uneasy by the unusual occurrence.

Shizune grimaced. "Please excue me for saying this Lady Tsunade but... have you considered you had hung onto the deaths of Nawaki and Dan long enough...?"

Tsunade gawked at her apprentice before clenching her teeth.

"How dare-."

"You're not the only one who lost someone. Dan was my uncle as well as your lover..." Shizune said, her voice cracking. "I will admit it still hurts when I think about his death... but that boy was right. He was a shinobi. When shinobi fight there will always be bloodshed that will cost someone dearly..."

Tsunade wanted to retort... but Shizune was right.

"I'm not asking you to take up the mantle as the Hokage. I have no problem with following you till either of us die, I just..." Shizune hung her head, "I just want the past to stay where it belongs and not to be used as a excuse for anything..."

Tsunade clenched her fists and looked away from Shizune... wordlessly she left her and Tonton behind as she made off to the town. Shizune reluctantly and solemnly followed, her pace nowhere capable of catching up to her mistress. She passed a unscathed boulder and stopped when she felt a presence. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the boy from earlier lurking in the shade of the boulder staring impassively back at her. she supposed that the only reason she wasn't shocked by this was because she felt too tired to be shocked to begin with. The emotional stress from before sapped much out of her.

Shizune calmly looked back to the town before returning the patience Genin in the shadows. Weathered eyes met stern ones as she voiced her request, "I would appreciate it if you avoided taking some kind of advantage about the people we cared about."

Naruto said nothing in return, but Shizune felt she got some kind of agreement from him, perhaps she was just too tired to face an argument...

She took one step forward before freezing in place. Naruto looked on in curiosity, increased further when Shizune turned to him looking as if she was deprived of sleep and ready to drop at the drop of a hat.

"I don't wish to incriminate Lady Tsunade, but I do wish to protect her..."

XVX

Nearby cave

A inhuman scream of pain echoed out of the only portal out of the craggy mountain, scaring off any who dared wander close to it.

**A/N: Yep, Burūmūn is the secret adoptive mother of Naruto. You're all probably going to send waves upon waves of 'questions,' if we are to be polite about this in the event there are some readers going to say "Bull! Why didn't he live with her then?!" (or similar questions/accusations), I have prepared a number of Q/As to eliminate at least a good number of questions. For the record, I am going to qualify this as a ****_Spoiler_**** which I will start in asterisks (*) and likewise end it that way for those who wish to skip this area.**

********_Spoiler_********

**Q: Why hasn't Naruto lived with Burūmūn when she was in Konoha?**

**A: It is my belief that even as a kid Naruto at least had some intelligence before Roderick kidnapped him. It was in a way a courtesy to avoid her when he had to namely because of the mobs and lack of proper protection as well as respecting her privacy. In a way she is like the Ichiraku's in a number of stories on the website- he spent time with her when he could, which increased when he learned to get by without being noticed.**

**Q: Clan Head candidate? "Kept to herself?" Why would Mikoto say that?**

**A: She may have been a recluse, but she was labeled as one of the strongest Uchiha of the clan, the kept to herself comment was from Mikoto's lack of any knowledge about the woman and had to make reasonable claim from her point of view.**

**Q: Why would she kill off the Uchiha clan or rather try to? Why didn't she succeed?**

**A: Danzo was involved, and anyone who has either read or watched a story/movie involving people like Danzo would figure out why she had to. To save you the trouble of thinking, he threatend Naruto from the shadows without him knowing. I would also like to note that the Massacre occurred before the conversation Naruto had with Hinata at the academy.**

**As to why, I have made mention she doesn't like to kill, so her victims list was limited to those who were threatening Konoha as a whole and those who tried to defend them from an attacker. She made enough noise to attract the entire clan's attention and faked her death. **

**Q: Why hasn't she returned to Konoha to request amnesty?**

**A: A mixture of reasons, one she wasn't aware Danzo was dead, Orochimaru only knows because of the distinct lack of contact and assistance with the man. Two, she is a mother, why would she be in a organization that is, more or less, aiming to kill her son? What would a mother do in that situation? (Hint, hint: the note from earlier!)**

**Q: Naruto already knows the Rasengan? WHAT THE HELL MAN?!**

**A: **Whistles innocently while stuffing a unwritten chapter into my back pocket.****

********_End Spoiler_********

**I will admit, I was planning to make a brawl between Tsunade and Naruto but I inadvertently reminded myself of a handful of facts. Naruto is trained to think like a assassin when he can, he isn't suppose enact on his emotions without heavy provocation. A woman riddled with grief isn't going to cut it. Even if he did fight Tsunade, he would gain as much distance from her as possible so he wouldn't get mutilated by powerhouse of a ninja. Even her former teammates are afraid of her for a reason! Even with training, unless Naruto has the advantage of range, he is no match for a Sannin outside of ambushing them.**

**For a final note, Burūmūn literally means Blue Moon in the Japanese language.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**To Dethklok91: Giving you the benefit of a doubt, I decided to see if "Aozuki" literally did mean "Blue Moon." Every single attempt has lead me to the same answer, it is a type of BEAN, upon further investigation, you misspelled it, it is spelled AZUKI. I will admit I used a translator to find the word Burūmūn (Google translator, phonetic function active), but I did some searching to see if it was correct, it was far more accurate than yours through the accumulation of several translations, dictionaries and websites.**

**Unless you have a professor or evidence to back up your claims, don't come into my house to denounce my choice for the name with incorrect facts, anime/games is one thing, definitions I will not tolerate. Sorry for the rant but I wanted to get that out there.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain. **

Assassin

Chapter 16: Tsunade's choice, and a secret revealed

Outside Tankatzu town

Orochimaru snarled at his predicament. The list of things going wrong were piling up into a mountain out of the sheer weight of its disastrous implications: Danzo died along with the chance to experiment on Uchiha eyes. The Konoha invasion failed. His former sensei, Hiruzen Sarutobi, summoned the deity of death to deprive him of his Hokage puppets _and_ his arms. Tsunade tried, and is still trying, to kill him. To top it all off Kabuto Yakushi , his right-hand man, was plastered on a boulder with a gaping pair of holes in his sides, subsequently bleeding to death if he hadn't already died thanks to a hidden sniper somewhere. Even if he dropped everything to save Kabuto, he would be nothing more than a corpse size paper weight at the end.

When he originally came to Tsunade for help with a bargain to bring back her loved ones, he did not expect things to go to the dogs to the degree it had. Tsunade, who came alone, tried to kill him right before Kabuto intercepted her supposed 'healing' technique stating that he was able to read the true intent of the green aura of chakra molded around her hands. They would've restrained her to force his will on the obstinate kunoichi so he would once more be able to use his arms; her apprentice, Jiriaya, a Leaf kunoichi, and a hidden sniper dashed those hopes.

First to arrive on the scene was Shizune, Tsuande's apprentice, who separated Kabuto from Tsuande with a barrage of senbon needles from a hidden wrist launcher. Jiriaya was the second one to arrive followed by the Leaf kunoichi, the former teamed up with Tsuande to take Orochimaru down while the pair of kunoichi attacked Kabuto.

It was not even two minutes into the fight, which mainly consisted of the Snake Sannin dodging his former teammates due to the handicap granted to them thanks to their sensei, when he observed Kabuto get trapped in a genjutsu of some kind judging from the stiffening of the body. At first Orochimaru mentally questioned why Tsuande's apprentice fled rather than attacked; that was when he learned there was a sniper hidden in the background. He never heard the shot that tore into Kabuto's body, ripping bloodied chunks out of his body as the bullet both went in and out. The sheer momentum of the bullet's power carried Kabuto's hapless corpse to its resting place on a now cracked boulder. The only reason he hadn't been targeted by now was because one of his teammates kept themselves close to him at all times before he switched them out with either a successful kick to the face or a trip up.

Outnumbered, underpowered, and most of his justsu techniques were unavailable to him, he was left with no choice but to retreat. His instinct and desire to survive overriding the mounting urge to rail against the outrageous absurdity of it all.

He blocked a incoming Rasengan from Jiriaya by planting a foot along Jiriaya's humerus (upper arm), and shrugged one of his useless arms forward. His elongated tongue shot out, wrapped itself on the deadweight of a limb, and dragged it into a ferocious bite from Orochimaru who finally found a small blessing , albeit a disgusting one even for the depraved man, in Hiruzen's act of sealing away his arms- he couldn't feel the pain from the flesh piercing bite.

Meanwhile Jiriaya felt a bit of bile lurch up the back of his throat as he witnessed his former teammate tear into the blackened flesh of his own arm. Orochimaru kicked his foot off the humerus and kicked Jiriaya hard enough to send him away as he sucked on his own blood. He turned to a charging Tsuande with her fist cocked back. He dropped down and swung a leg at her feet, forcing her to jump over the Snake Sannin who rolled under the opening he created.

He turned to his teammates and spat out the accumulated blood at the summoning tattoo of his right arm, though his choice of attire at first absorbed the blood, a sizable amount passed through and splattered the tattoo underneath. His tongue shot out once more to manipulated his essentially dead hand into forming the seals necessary for a summoning.

Normally the use of a summoning jutsu, let alone any jutsu in existence, requires the use of two hands. Yet there are ways around it. Familiarity of the jutsu to be used often helped in this regard when it came to one handed seals. Mental imaging to make a 'complete' seal helped to a great degree. Last but not least there are individuals who have amassed a sizable reservoir of chakra equivalent to a container of at least the One-Tail who have been noted to bypass the seal process altogether at the cost of putting more chakra than a seal used version of the ability. It was the first two facts that Orochimaru had going in his favor.

Five sets of eyes grew in distress as they realized what Orochimaru was doing. Jiriaya and Tsunade, and a figure erupting from the ground with a tarp dropping off of him soon followed after with the white-haired man in the lead of the Leaf team, Tsunade second after a brief moment of hesitation from her forcibly quelled fear of blood, and on further inspection Naruto taking up the rear because he had to take off his gauntlets.

Naruto viciously bite into his thumb and pulled the leather sleeve of his suit up to reveal his own tattoo. He glanced up at Orochimaru forming the second to last seal needed due to the awkwardness of the improvised use of his hand; an idea struck at him as he laid the blood trail on the tattoo.

A hapless Orochimaru, Tsunade, and a startled Jiriaya were disturbed from their respective seal processes by a potent spike of chakra washing over them, and drawing the attention of the kunoichi on the side. They all redoubled their efforts, and soon after four towers of smoke erupted on the battlefield.

Orochimaru cockily smirked as he eyed the following shinobi: Jiriaya atop Gamabunta, boss of the Toads. Tsunade standing tall on Katsuyu, the boss of the Slugs. And further away from them was a dark clad boy standing on Manda's head, the boss of... the... Snakes...

Orochimaru did a double take and looked down. He was standing on top of a giant white snake with red scales forming a diamond pattern right underneath him. How could... no, it was Naruto Uzumaki, he shouldn't be surprised by the chakra spike earlier. The boy is the container of the Nine-Tails after all. But how did he get the Snake contract unless... "Anko..." Orochimaru vehemently growled.

"What is this? Who dares summon me?!" Manda roared for all to hear, earning puzzled glances from the summons and summoners aside from Manda's own summoner and the two kunoichi frozen in shock at seeing what Naruto pulled off. Ochimaru's crowning disappointment regarding Kabuto was instantly replaced by this turn of events.

"If you would pardon me," Manda turned his gaze up at the boy standing atop his head, "for summoning you, I did so to prevent Orochimaru from summoning you."

Manda looked out at front of him, realizing that he was indeed summoned in what could be a boss fight judging from the fact Gamabunta and Katsuyu were here as well as the Sannin... with Orochimaru looking mortified atop one of Manda's subordinates who looked like he wished to flee now...

Manda let loose a low chuckle and started to curl himself into a comfy coil. "If it's all the same to you, I'll be over here watching." Manda grinned evilly when they returned to Orochimaru.

Manda groaned in disappointment when the white scaled snake fled the field with Orochimaru on top, whose cowardly idea it was he couldn't tell. His attention returned to the boy on his head once more when the Toad and Slug gave chase. "I'm going to say this once boy," Manda said, drawing Naruto's attention to him. "Summon me for anything less than a opponent worth my time and you can expect me to lurk in your shadow to exact retribution." Without warning Manda disappeared in a cloud of smoke, eliciting a surprised yelp from Naruto when the forces of gravity took over.

Forming a series of hand seals, he positioned himself to face the ground as it came screaming towards him and unleashed a gust of wind from his mouth; the most painful impact of the day for Naruto as landing on the ground with a thud as opposed to a bone jarring impact to leave a imprint on the ground.

XVX

Outsider's Pub, one hour later

"Gwarf!" Jiriaya yelled as a piece of Dango was shoved into his mouth to prevent him from saying a word, whether or not Naruto knew it, the action earned him points with Tsunade as she smirked at the scene.

Orochimaru escaped, whether or not he would be back considering his current state remained to be seen. Tsunade drank from her saucer once more as torrent of sayings and images rushed through her head. Images from her days as a Genin being embarrassed at the hands of her Grandfather and Granduncle, Hiruzen's speeches on the Will of Fire handed down from her Grandather, and Naruto's own speech as he kneeled over the body of Kabuto checking for any remaining sign of life.

Part of her wanted to vomit at the scene, but it took observing Naruto to calm her down as parts of his speech flitted through her mind, "hesitation leads to problems." She remembered her flinch when she saw her own blood. If she took a few seconds longer... and then there was Naruto's burst of chakra to distract everyone. If Orochimaru wasn't impeded, it was likely they would've faced Manda in battle.

Tsunade closed her eyes and slowly swished a sip of sake his her mouth. "The reason Konoha stands..." She opened her eyes. No longer was she in the bar room but at the familiar grassy field of training ground twenty-nine, her teammates and herself kids once more and together in front of their sensei as he smiled at them. "Is because every shinobi, every kunoichi, and every citizen lives to see tomorrow a better day. They fight, they work, they _improve_ themselves through adversity aimed against Konoha so others may live in peace and harmony."

The scene changed to Naruto closing Kabuto's eyes before getting up and walking away. "We fight and train ourselves to defend others as well as ourselves from the horrors that exist in the world."

"The Will of Fire..." She opened her eyes to the Leaf team in front of her. "Has many different meanings." Naruto scowled as Kurenai pinched his cheek and shook it for a reason unknown to the sole female Sannin, Jiriaya was giggling to the side with a hand covering his mouth with Shizune blushing up a storm. One of Tsunade's eyebrows twitched angerily in contrast to the amused smile on her lips.

"For me, it is to defend my home... and what is important to me."

The fleeting image of Naruto giving Shizune a firm pat on the shoulder as he stopped next to her to steal her attention away from Kabuto's dead form. With little prompting she joined him, Kurenai, and Jiriaya as they headed towards the town, stopping only once to make sure Tsunade was following.

"The reason Konoha stands is because we fight for each other and help each other when and where we can."

Tsunade placed her cup down and got up. She walked over to the door much to the puzzlement of everyone. When she reached the doorway, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Are you guys coming or what?"

Jiriaya and Shizune blinked in confusion as Naruto and Kurenai raised a quizzical brow. Jiriaya asked her calmly for the sake of the question that needed to be asked despite knowing the answer he hoped for, "Coming for what?"

"You asked me to be the Hokage, did you not?"

XVX

Outside the Namakaze estate, eleven-thirty four p.m.

"Are you serious?!" Tenten gasped before a gloved hand clasped around her mouth. She paled with fear as she was reminded of her position both physically and metaphorically, they were easily in shouting distance of the Namakaze mansion and she was but a student in the company of her teacher... and the one person who could match her and potentially kill her.

Kira Blanc could be described as a odd bird when she got bored. She never thought twice about performing a subject short of harming another... physically anyway. Inuzuka hounds dyed in various shades of pinks, blues, and any other unnatural hair color during their sleep could attest to that. It was rumored that the matriarch of the Inuzuka clan had started to lay traps around the dog kennels to prevent further transgressions of this quality...

The latest of these odd desires was getting Tenten to meet her only 'friend' in Konoha starting but a few days ago, coincidentally around the time Kushina Namakaze returned to Konoha.

Her first impression of Roderick Gryphon was that he was overly serious, much like Kira was when they trained save for the occasional brought out of excitement like a smile, only he didn't seem to shut himself off. The most she actually seen of the towering cloaked man was his gloved hands that were part of a suit of some kind hidden by the cloak. In certain lighting she could almost swear she saw him wearing a helmet with a glass visor. Other than appearance, he seemed to have been wearing some kind of voice masking device from the few times he actually responded to her. Which brings her to the possible reason why he was so quiet. Kushina Namakaze.

The more Tenten observed the man, the more likely it seemed that Naruto was trained by him. He was watching Kushina like a hawk and tailed her from afar in ways she could only dream of if Kira Blanc hadn't taken a interest in her. Like Iruka Umino to Naruto, she had to spot the man to know where he was when he moved through a crowd despite the black cloak. Unlike Iruka, she had to know what she was looking for in a crowd to find him. Displacement of a people, the way he walked, the subtle avoiding of being touched by anyone... much like Naruto when she started to follow him, however she had long spotted Naruto before he had a chance to actually disappear into the streets thus made it hard to negate her attention.

It didn't seem like Kushina was aware of her military trained stalker both in and out of the confines of the estate of her husband, especially now that she was frantically searching the mansion for something as she opened drawers, doors, and the occasional hidden safe. Her mind too much in a confused panic to have the presence of mind to use the window blinds.

Roderick finally released Tenten's shut mouth when he was satisfied knowing that Kushina had yet to detect them.

Tenten took a step back on the tree branch serving as their perch and took a quiet breath. "I just find it hard to believe. It just doesn't seem possible, wouldn't-."

"I have lived long enough to say human beings can be foolish creatures even when faced with facts," Roderick interrupted. His gaze never leaving Kushina as she opened a chest to look for something.

"And no matter how old they are, they can be tricked or blinded to facts despite years of service," Kira said from a higher branch with a small grin.

"Which is how we both ended up here." She scowled at the comeback.

Tenten frowned, save for snip bits from Kira, neither really talked about their past to her. The most she understood was they were assassins for a empire beyond her home's understanding. A massive empire...

The kunoichi turned to observe Kushina collapse on a couch in the latest room to be torn apart. "What exactly has her upset?"

At this she heard something she wouldn't have thought to hear from the serious man... a snort from a subdued urge to laugh. Both women turned to the stoic man as he looked on. He gave no acknowledgement to either one, though Kira could tell he was uncomfortable with the attention. She nudged him with her foot. Roderick ignored it, or at least was trying to if the grunting indicated anything.

"Too late to hide something now," she chided.

Roderick continued to ignore her till she caught him by surprise by dropping down and started to strangle him with her legs as she clung onto her now former seat. "Spill it!" She playfully hissed as to avoid detection. To the man's credit, he didn't topple over as he tried to repel the attack. Tenten took a few steps back to avoid being caught in the middle.

Kira returned to her seat with a grin after Roderick pried himself loose while grumbling to himself.

"I had Naruto break into the mansion as a graduation exam in infiltration," he finally admitted without remorse with a slightly wounded pride. His mind replying the reasoning behind it, it was heavily guarded with seals and the occasional Anbu patrol. If there was any place to truly test the ability to enter and leave with no trace left behind, it was the abandoned home of the Fourth Hokage.

Tenten gawked. "Is that how..." she hesitantly started before taking a calming breath. "Is that how you two figured out who Naruto's parents are?"

"Yes."

She opened her mouth to ask, but closed it already know the answer... she simply asked a different one in its stead. "But that doesn't truly explain what has her upset."

Kira's foot tapped the back of Roderick's head to put down any thoughts of faking bad hearing. "A few scrolls were taken from the personal library that were deemed potentially useful."

Tenten palmed her face as her teacher giggled. "You two are nuts," she commented to herself.

"I'm old, I'm entitled to be nuts." The giggling grew louder.

None of them seem to be aware of the mirror attached to a chain of ice observing from above...


	17. Chapter 17

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain. **

Assassin

Chapter 17: Idle time, past and present discussions

Cave

_(Flashback)_

Naruto slept soundly for the night with his head on her lap. She smiled softly and returned to her book once more as he sounds of the night afforded by living on the outskirts filtered mutely into her room from the outside. If he wasn't so worried about people bursting in at any given time -"Burūmūn."- and deliberately harassing her for her relationship with Naruto, she -"Burūmūn..."- could convince him to stay with her where it was safe. She idly combed a hand through his hair -"Burūmūn!"

_(End Flashback)_

That did it...

Burūmūn cracked both eyes slowly to reveal angrily spinning blue Sharingans staring a now hesitant Kisame down.

"Is there a reason you chose to wake me up Kisame?" She asked politely enough to mask the wanton malice building up from being woken up rudely.

"Uh... I... uh..." Kisame dumbly said.

"I see."

XVX

Two miles out

"Is that a mountain bear squealing in pain?" One merchant asked.

"No... sounds more like a mountain lion being mauled with its tongue numbed beforehand..." Another replied.

XVX

Muru's springhouse, women's hot spring , two days since retrieving Tsunade

Man eating snakes were one thing, snakes larger than Boa Constrictors she seen him handle, snakes small enough to slip into one's clothes was the line apparently.

"Get it off of me! Get it off of me!" Screamed Jiriaya from over the fence. From what Tsunade could tell, a snake slipped underneath his clothing and was having a grand time if the screeching meant anything. It was too damn hilarious that the cackling was twisting the formerly serene and relaxing hot spring experience to something akin to a living in a cheap horror book, scary at first but uncomfortable at best by the end of it.

"I wonder if I could hire the brat to torment Jiriaya full time when I become Hokage!" Tsunade managed to say between gasps for air and the cackling. Kurenai rolled her eyes at the soon-to-be Hokage, at Jiriaya begging for mercy from a snake, and to a lesser extent Naruto who most likely summoned the snake to begin with to torment Jiriaya. To be fair this did sound like it was a unexpected result. She looked over to Shizune who had her eyes closed as she tended to herself while humming a bath tune to herself. It was a little more disturbing considering the atmosphere occurring around her that put off the most earnest of hot spring users.

She narrowed her eyes when she thought she saw something sticking out of her ears. She leaned a little closer. "So that's how she's doing it," Kurenai noted to herself. Somewhere along the way Shizune had placed corks into her ears, rendering her immune to the noise around her. The Jonin groaned as she laid back against the rock acting as her seat. "Why didn't I think of that?" She thought to herself.

XVX

Meanwhile

Naruto, as well as many other pedestrians trying to live their lives, stared blankly at white haired Sannin hopping about begging for help. "Does anyone know what's wrong with him?" Someone asked. Naruto turned around and walked away. He had neither a clue nor an answer to what was going on and he did not want to be caught up in it.

XVX

Konoha

A night of curiosity can lead to several things. Discovery, empowerment, and even bewilderment for Haku Momochi.

Haku wasn't sure which she was more perturbed by, one-to-three people following Kushina Namakaze's shadow or the hypothesis born from her learned ability to read lips thanks to the years on the run. Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Namakaze family?

Seeds of doubt were sown however when she thought about it. True Naruto didn't seek glory or anything, but wouldn't he try to indicate his heritage? Doubtful when she thought about it. Of course he never once expressed the want to know who his family was for as long as she known him. Of course she, nor anyone in her presence, once asked him any such questions to prompt such a response. So either he knew and wanted nothing to do with them, or he had circumstantial evidence he had yet to make a conclusive opinion on.

Whatever the case was, the possibility of her teammate being the heir of a presumably dead clan was now entrenched in her mind. There was no way to deny that. But she couldn't help but wonder, "If he is the son of the Fourth, why isn't it known by now?"

XVX

Koruku, Udon stand, four days since retrieving Tsunade

"So... How long have you had the Snake contract?" Jiriaya asked, curiosity masking the more serious analytical mind sharpened by surprise after surprise. Even the supposed phenomenal one day mastery was in doubt when she played it over in his mind, the only evidence he had to say he knew before that incident occurred was the exaggerated effort the boy put into it.

"Obviously before we went searching for Tsunade," Naruto replied nonchalantly as she mildly attacked another bowl.

The older shinobi had to restrain groan. "I'm just curious. Not many shinobi, especially your age, have a contract with a summons of any kind. Considering the fact Orochimaru uses it could suggest he had approached you some point in the past."

"Last I recall, there were known Toad summoners who were sworn enemies of Konoha. The same could be applied to you since you too haven't decided to divulge your past." Jiriaya narrowed his gaze on the boy. "And how would you know that?" He asked, his tone slightly heated at the accusation behind it.

"You are aware Konoha has a library and summons do talk, right?" Naruto deadpanned. Jiriaya had to take full control of himself not to fall off the stool... he forgot that there were people out there dedicated to finding the truth and spreading it to the world, and forgot that even animal summons talked despite his own experience.

The Sannin turned to stare at the back of the stand as Naruto slowly added another bowl to the growing army of now three empty bowls of udon. So far the most he had gotten out of the boy was a fairly accurate deduction of how the Rasengan was formed. "First one must start forming chakra to their hand at a point to start the process. Then follow it up with effectively spinning the chakra to give it shape. Then condense the now formed ball with a thicker set of chakra to empower it. Last would be the application of the previous two into one attack." At first he thought Naruto had a sharp mind, but Jiriaya never mentioned spinning. In fact he never gone into detail how the Rasengan was made in terms of being used.

That was the one mistake both parties were aware of on Naruto's part; Jiriaya only showed the technique, not its mechanics.

XVX

Lounge, Monk's shelter hotel, Koruku

"So what can you tell me about the kid?" Tsunade asked as she discretely eyed a nearby Blackjack table, one of the odd few vices found in their current place of residence for the day. A bar was to be expected, not a small gambling room next to it let alone in the entire complex given the name of the hotel. Shizune taking it upon herself, alongside Kurenai, to act as a living choker to Tsunade's addiction to gambling during their trip however was expected.

To add insult to injury for the blond, the bar ran out of sake long before they arrived.

The divine forces above must be picking on her for both events to happen, that was the only logical conclusion in the Sannin's mind.

"Well as you could tell, he can be rough around the edges," stated Kurenai as she sipped from a cup filled with tea. The one drink able to subside Tsunade for awhile until sake was reintroduced.

"Mmhm, doesn't really tell us who he is though other than capable of being rude to someone on the first meeting." Shizune nodded in agreement.

Kurenai held up one finger as she drank her beverage. "It can take awhile for him to warm up around people," she continued after satisfying her thirst, "but he's not some kind of sociopath underneath it all." Tsunade raised a skeptical brow at that as Shizune quizzically looked on as Tsunade gestured for Kurenai to go on.

"It depends on how well you know him and vice versa. Save for certain things, he tends to come across as a serious person twenty-four seven that only someone with _Lord Jiriaya's_ caliber of being odd could jostle him into a break of character," Tsunade smirked. Nice to know she wasn't the only one here who didn't favor his... 'hobbies.' "So what is he like underneath it all?" Shizune asked.

Kurenai smiled a bit. "He can try to deny it all he wants but he is caring person underneath the 'tough guy' exterior. And he isn't afraid to help anyone if they need or want it..." The smile got a bit wider at the end.

Tsunade opened her mouth to encourage her to continue when a devious idea came to mind. Inwardly she smiled a tad cruelly; finding small open ended statements to be perverted for fun was one of the few benefits to not being drunk.

"Hmm... would you say he would help someone with just about _anything_ provided that said someone was at least on speaking terms with him?" She asked the Jonin with a rather broad smile. Kurenai couldn't help but feel unsettled by it as she replied with a yes. Shizune eyed her mentor cautiously.

Tsunade began to roll her shoulders with a discomforted groan. "You know, I have been suffering from stiff shoulder for awhile. It's a bit of a curse when you have large-." She silently scowled when Shizune caught onto her much too soon for her tastes when she positioned herself between Kurenai and the Sannin on a confiscated bar stool, years of being Tsuande's sole companion were finally paying off in speed and reaction times apparently. Tsunade quietly huffed as he absent mindedly petted Tonton who somehow ended up on her lap without her knowledge in favor to brood over the ruined opportunity.

"So how long have you known Naruto?" Shizune asked politely, seemingly ignorant of her teacher's mood.

Kurenai let loose a small sigh of relief. "I've known him for a few years, though admittedly the majority of that time was spent as acquaintances. We were first introduced by Anko, but we didn't really spend much time together mostly out of obligation to previous engagements; me with my career and him at the academy. This mission would be the longest time we have ever been together without Anko or anyone else we knew."

"Oh? What changed the status quo if I may ask?" Shizune queried.

Kurenai smiled a bit wistfully and humorlessly. "It was about two months or so before the exams happened; until then all I know of Naruto was from what Anko told me on several occasions. His sensei, Itachi Uchiha, was called away to handle some..." Her face twisted as if she ate something a few degrees less than rancid. "Family issues regarding his brother who was removed from the corps for several offenses..." Tsunade frowned at that.

The young Jonin cleared her throat. "Rather than temporarily suspend the squad, the members of Team Seven were temporarily transferred to my Team Eight for joint training and as a means to introduce the concept of working with people you aren't familiar with in future missions."

"To be honest I had no idea that my own team would be subject to something akin to what Team Seven went through before they had their teammate removed from duty," she said wearily. The last part raised the curiosity of the traveling duo more so than the tone much to their reproachful guilt. If they were correct, it's not often one heard of a team with a family member teaching it; missions going bad was not uncommon to hear, Tsunade had plenty of experience with that aspect of the shinobi career...

Kurenai took a deep breath. "Before Teams Seven and Eight were temporarily combined, Seven went on a C-Rank mission that was bumped up to an A-Rank when their client omitted the fact that a businessman with a iron grip on his country wanted him dead. During the mission Team Seven encountered and defeated Zabuza Momochi and his apprentice Haku Momochi who both later sided with Konoha by the end of the mission. The Former is now a Jonin, and the latter took the opened spot of Team Seven."

"My team was given was hired to protect a Blacksmith as he delivered a set of swords to a town on the border of the Land of Birds for a Ronin. During the trip we were ambushed by a small group of bandits, one of which managed to steal the swords as a consolation prize when they failed to overpower us. I divided the group into two; Team Seven to escort the client to the nearest town while I took my own team for much needed experience on the field." She smiled wistfully once again. "I failed to notice that my team never took a life during the first excursion. Between Naruto, Haku, Shino's bugs, and I there weren't any for my team as a whole to deal with."

"We caught up to the remaining wave of bandits, we fought, and my team hesitated to deliver any killing blows. At most they simply disabled their respective enemies while I was busy holding back the majority. Unfortunately the one that had the swords saw an opportunity and knocked my student Kiba Inuzuka out along with his partner Akimaru before making his escape..."

"We found out under an hour that those bandits were working for a rogue shinobi from Kumo, a giant of a man named Otto Kuro. In a bizarre way we were fortunate with him." Shizune cocked her head to the side in confusion. Kurenai's smile was worn. "He was brutal and wanted to use us, or rather Hinata, as a bargaining chip to reenter Kumo, but do to him we were allotted safety from his men; he had standards compared to his... lonely thugs.

Kurenai leaned back into her chair, her eyes glazed over. "Overall we got lucky that our encounter with a A ranked missing shinobi happened to live with at least some code of honor when he held back to capture us alive. That he commanded enough respect and fear to keep those he lorded over to keep in line even in his sleep. That Team Seven came looking for us and rescued us..."

_(Flashback!)_

Otto Kuro was a man of impressive build and height as he stood over the bodies of the dying number of bandits under his command. Seven feet tall with tanned, but scared, skin covering muscle upon muscle to atone to serious training towards power over speed. To give him modesty and protection were cream colored pants with armor plates strapped to protect his shins and outer thighs. Clothing his chest was a tattered white shirt smudged from both battle and lack of proper washing lying beneath a chest plate riddled with bullet holes both old and new. Protecting his arms were forearm protectors, also riddled with bullet holes, that reached out enough to cover the back of his hands. Keeping his head from being shot off was a heavily reinforced samurai-like helmet complete with a dark demon mask that had a scratched shinobi head plate welded into the forehead of it.

Minutes before someone had snuck into his camp and planted explosives. Needless to say they did their job marvelously. Otto was rudely awakened from his slumber to the roars of explosion and the screams of casualties. Under the panic of a cold start and the confusion it entailed, the man had to throw on but half of his usual garb to engage the assailant(s) of his camp as his men scattered and screamed from the fright of the sudden attack.

A precursory glance fortuned him with a glimpse of a suspect that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the rabble of poorly, or in some cases gaudy thanks to successful raids, dressed bandits; a armor clad boy running away from the chaos. A commanding bark from Otto and a small pack with the rogue at the head gave chase into the brush; a mistake on his part as he came to learn.

Now he stood alone in a small thicket of the forest as his gathered henchmen lay dying at his feet by the machinations of predetermined traps of mines and rigged automatic weaponry that failed to kill off the former Kumo agent. The boy was nowhere to be found much to the man's ire.

XVX

A bandit's eyes widened in horror when a felt a pair of hands on his head. He was no military expert but that didn't mean he didn't know a few things such as breaking someone's neck this way...

He dropped wordlessly, only the sound of the cracking of bone emanated from the dead man that was muted as another explosion sounded off followed by a handful of screams of pain and surprise.

Naruto wasted not a second as he collected the keys from the deceased and darted over to the cages containing the captured Team Eight which slightly gawked at the seamless transaction between killing and rescue. A man sized mirror of ice rose from the ground and out emerged Haku with her mask drawn on. One by one Team Eight was quietly ushered away from the encampment through Haku's mirror till all that remained was Naruto and Kurenai awaiting Haku to return to retrieve them.

Tense patience was rewarded when Haku appeared once more, only to her shock and confusion to be shoved back into the crystalline object. Part of her realized why Naruto did that as her instincts screamed for her to retreat when something rocked the chakra reinforced mirror hard enough to crack and break it.

Kurenai tried to scold Naruto, unaware of the reason behind repelling Haku's advance, but was cut short when Naruto turned around and deliberately curled an outstretched arm around her waist as he retreated to the woods behind the cages. Explosion after explosion obliterated the mirror and sent shards and shrapnel chasing after them, some of them successfully nicked the fleeing duo either along their apparel or exposed flesh.

Otto grunted as he slapped in a fresh magazine of grenades.

XVX

Kurenai applied a small dab of ointment on a cut as Naruto peered through the leaves of the darkened forest at Otto... rather a clone of Otto. Only a handful of minutes past when they counted at least eight Otto clones, the real one possibly among them, armed with differing weapons of the heavy armament variety: three armed with machine guns, two armed with missile launchers, one with a Minigun, one with a flamethrower, and the last with a grenade machinegun. If any of the bandits from the camp were alive, they most likely left their boss in pursuit of greener, and safer, pastures.

Which one was the real Otto was in question; one didn't make it to a rank of Jonin for brute force alone even by Kumo's standards. He would've changed weapons by now in hopes of sneaking up on the Leaf shinobi if he had half a brain.

The group of clones had split up in a search and destroy mission. By luck of the draw one of the machinegun users was chosen and followed as Kurenai sealed away the cuts most likely to obstruct her vision by bleeding as Naruto mutely made shadows clones to tail and, if possible, ambush the other 'cloud shinobi.'

Naruto dropped to the ground with a soft plop and sunk into it, leaving Kurenai in the tree with a gun. She stared at the foreign weapon as her mind ran through the quick lesson that essentially summed up as "point and shoot." It was a "nine-millimeter pistol with a silencer modification" Naruto told her, it didn't mean she liked it. She only knew two people who had ever bothered to trained with any kind of firearm, Anko and Itachi. Anko only went so far as to understand the basics on how to properly use one thanks to her association with Naruto, yet she preferred her kunai out of familiarity. Itachi's case was fairly similar to Anko yet focused more on how to recognize when someone using a firearm was the most vulnerable, or at least how to jam up their weaponry if given the chance. But unlike Anko, his training was mandatory during his days as a Anbu when firearms flooded the markets; it was quit possible he knew as much as Naruto regarding their use and maintenance.

She pointed the gun at Otto, or what potentially was Otto, and took a shaky breath. Her grip tensed despite Naruto's counsel on having a more loose grip. She had to agree with Anko regarding kunai, it was more familiar and less... odd. Perhaps it was a acquired taste if anything.

A pair of hands snatched Otto's ankles and dragged him to his earthen grave. A minute later Naruto emerged with a scowl as he tore the machinegun out of the ground. Kurenai released a pent up breath as he removed her finger from the trigger, only for it to return and yank the trigger back in startled fright when shots rang out from a wooded that forced Naruto to return to the earth once more.

Her nerves tensed between the silence that followed after and witnessing the ripping of a small branch off the tree. She relaxed once more when one of Naruto's clones entered the clearing with the magazine of the rifle in one hand and the weapon itself in the other.

Her relief turned to worry when the original emerged from the ground once more however, a gauntleted hand clutching along his left arm and had to have help from his clone to get up. Sparing her surroundings a cautionary glance, she left her cover, collected Naruto, and hide both herself and him in a differing tree.

"I'm fine," Naruto said as he edged away from Kurenai, earning a flat look from the kunoichi as she tried to survey the damage. It looked like his chest plate did its job, leaving his arm the only injured and bleeding part of his person, but the hand covering his arm concealed too much to make a more detailed observation.

Without looking away, she removed a scroll from one of her pockets. She activated a seal and retrieved a first aid kit, from which she fished out a roll of bandages. She rolled out a small strip and snapped it loudly enough to be noted by the two.

"You are aware we have a relationship with Anko Mitarashi, correct?" She asked, her tone flat as her look.

"Yes..." Naruto responded in kind.

"And I doubt she withheld herself from talking about me when she is with you on occasion." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Let's cut to the chase shall we?" Naruto didn't respond.

"Should we choose to go with your wish to leave your wound alone it could quite possibly get infected by the end of this excursion. With infection comes disease, and with disease comes either a decline in performance for awhile or quite possibly force you to be bed ridden thus rendering you unable to perform on missions where your knowledge could dramatically shift the outcome of it. Either way it would be more detrimental than beneficial if we left it alone, do you not agree?"

A moment of silence ensued between the two. "Anko was right, you can be more stubborn than me..."

She had to resist the urge to smirk at that, an urge that was easily quashed when Naruto revealed the extent of his injury. Indeed the breast plate performed its function but his unarmored part of his arm was peppered till it was... _raw_. Being a container had its benefits, advanced healing was one of them, already she could see with disturbing clarity that muscles were being knitted back into place, the flesh was torn up but recovering at its own pace yet left the exposed muscle alone as it regenerated. Her brow furrowed as she mentally questioned the lack of blood till her eye traveled down. Part of her felt idiotic to not notice the distinct darkening of his already hard to see suit. The dark colors and the shadows of night were doing their purposes well to conceal the abundant amount of blood trailing down the recovering arm... she in no way envied Naruto's position as a container of a Bijuu and his apparant unwillingness to reveal his wounded arm, she actually felt a little sick.

Cramming the bile of disgust back whence it came from, she got to work to wrapping up the wound out of naivety and distinct lack of knowledge of how to handle this kind of wound. The smallest of twitches assured her that Naruto was quite aware of the medical cloth's touch on the exposed wound.

"We're going to have to get you to a doctor when we're able," she said quietly. Naruto only grunted. She tied up the dressing and shuffled back to 'admire' her handiwork before turning to him. "Most people would have muffled a scream by now."

"Most people probably never constantly experimented or trained with haphazard weapons or inventions." She frowned as she resisted the desire to ask him for details, there was still a rogue shinobi out there after all. Her mind crunched facts and plans.

A heavily armed shinobi was out hunting for them, their only means of escape was forced to retreat and most likely hasn't a clue to what danger they were in, and the only aid she had was most likely crippled for the duration of this conflict, and they had downed two clones if Naruto's scowl...

"Naruto, can you please check on your clones? How many Otto clones are left?" With a grunt to confirm her suspicions, Naruto labored to move his wounded arm to form the familiar hand seal for the shadow clone technique. Immediately a clone materialized into existence, and quickly vanished with a "poof."

"Seems there is only one Otto left on the field unless he made more clones, he's the one with the Minigun..." Naruto grimaced a little.

"What exactly is a Minigun?"

"Think of it as a rifle that you need both hands to wield that spews out a seemingly line of fire till you run out of ammo. Has enough power to rip through trees if given enough time."

Kurenai grimaced as well.

Without warning, she whipped around with a kunai in hand since she returned the nine millimeter to Naruto. She relaxed when she spotted the familiar ice mirror of Haku's creation forming in front of her. Haku soon exited it when it was sufficient enough to enter and leave from. She gave a brief bow to Kurenai.

"Kurenai-sensei, Nar-..." Her breath hitched when she spotted the already dull and darkening white bandages on Naruto's arm. "Haku." Her attention was drawn to the older kunoichi though she was still shocked.

"I want you to get Naruto out of here. I'll stay behind to ensure that we aren't followed by Otto, am I _understood_?" She gave a quick glance at a irritated Naruto. Whether he agreed or not, she got up and lead Naruto to a concerned Haku. She smiled wistfully to herself when the two entered the mirror and disappeared with it evaporating seconds after.

The Jonin took a quit breath and took a look at her current arsenal...

XVX

Otto turned about slowly in the middle of a clearing with a Minigun in his grasp being fed by a small drum resting on the small of his back while the rest was dominated by a case worn much like a backpack.

The weapon spun to life and dispensed its payload at a trio of charging Kurenai's. Two revealed to be illusionary clones while the third was an earth clone. He kicked back and found purchase with a Kurenai, also revealed to be a earth clone when the Minigun was brought to task.

With a shrug, the 'backpack' opened up to reveal armed ports from the sides which readily dispensed their payload to a unseen threat from behind. He made no move to confirm or deny contact when a tree suddenly grew out from under him and entrapped him with coiling roots. A feminine hand armed with a kunai reached over to his neck.

"Any last words?" Kurenai whispered into his ear.

"Just one: burn!" Otto rumbled. The hiss of gas was Kurenai's one warning before the case belched out a steady stream of flame to incinerate her. She screamed and fell back with her clothing ablaze and her skin blistering from both the attack and its aftermath.

Otto nonchalantly turned around to reveal a hand forming one seal after another at a leisurely pace as he approached the screaming woman on the ground trying to save herself from a fiery death. Chakra and condensed air gathered around a foot that was raised and slammed against the kunoichi, dousing the flames littering her body but cracked her ribcage something fierce. Her sight became blurry and blind by right of the already dark world and the pain inflicted upon her, and her hearing became blurred as well. She knew Otto was saying something, but could not make it out as her senses slipped into the unconscious realm. The last thing she perceived as the sound of the crack of thunder.

XVX

Tozen, Two days later

Between the drugs and lack of strength from the extent of her injuries, Kurenai weakly stared down a impassive Naruto sitting in a stool in front of the bed of the clinic. A medical shinobi team was sent for, and since Kurenai wasn't supposed to be moved just yet, so was the Ronin the client was looking for.

From what Kurenai gathered from Haku, Naruto received knowledge of Kurenai's predicament from clones left over from the Otto clone hunt after they intervened. Using the mirrors as a means for travel, they reached the first own they could to get her proper care. She didn't doubt Haku's word, however she did doubt Naruto...

"Is there a reason you stayed behind despite my orders?" She asked as sternly as she could given the circumstances. Her eyes narrowed by a fraction short of being half lidded when Naruto only stared back. "I may not know much about firearms, but I sincerely doubt anything Otto had used that could take a head clean off his shoulders."

Silence.

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. "To steal what you have said, "you are aware we have a relationship with Anko Mitarashi, correct?" This provoked eyebrow to be quirked upward.

"How would she feel if she learned that her best friend died on a mission when the only other person with her knew and did nothing about it?"

Kurenai relaxed a little as a wave of acceptance washed over her. "So you did it-."

"I did it so I won't have to sleep with one eye open with a gun under my pillow."

Kurenai smirked... which evolved into a smile, further enhanced by a small but slightly painful chuckle from her. Naruto's only response to that was to get up and make for the door.

"Naruto?" He stopped and turn to catch her looking at him with the corner of his eye.

She looked at a loss for words for a moment before turning to the bandaged limb. "How's your arm?"

Naruto responded with a brief show of arm curls to demonstrate its condition. Before she could say anything else, Naruto escape through the door after the last arm curl.

_(End Flashback!)_

XVX

Mikoto Uchiha's home, Konoha

"I'm sorry for not getting together with you sooner Kushina," Mikoto apologized as she brought a tray laden with tea, cups, and interestingly enough plate littered with pocky sticks.

Kushina waved her off with a smile. "I can understand, being the leader of a clan takes its toll on people after all." A weary yet thankful smile adorned the black haired woman's lips as she sat herself down.

"So how have you been since you came back?"

Kushina faintly smiled as her shouldered slumped a little. "'Fine' I guess... Having to fight off hordes of 'admirers' left and right, having to dodge stalkers," in a nearby tree, Roderick sneezed much to his chagrin inside his helmet, "and to top it all off I can hardly find someone who could give me a detailed description of my son..." Mikoto grimaced a little.

"I take it Itachi didn't help you much when you were asking around." Kushina shook her head.

"I managed to aggravate my son's apparent best friend, Anko Mitarashi. Itachi was terse and to the point. Yugao doesn't really know him. Hiruzen is dead. Jiriaya seemed to have convinced Naruto to help him find Tsuande. Last but not least _Hatake_ was more interested in his book the whole time," Kushina growled out the last part.

Mikoto looked at her friend curiously. "What exactly did Kakashi due to earn your wrath?" She grabbed the tray and held it aloft as Kushina grabbed the table and shook it in unbridled fury. "HOW COULD HE NOT FIND MY SON FOR THREE MONTHS WHEN HE WAS KIDNAPPED BY SOME KIND OF PSYCHOPATH?! AND WHY HASN'T THIS MAN BEEN CAUGHT YET?!" She screamed with a foaming mouth. It was almost funny at a distance if she wasn't so dangerous.

The tray once more rested on the table and Mikoto handed a panting Kushina a cup laden with tea. "As I understand it the "Mystery Man," as the Anbu calls him, has unparalleled abilities in stealth and infiltration. He even is capable of defeating them without the use of jutsu. It was rumored that only Hiruzen Sarutobi was even capable of spotting him in a crowd if he concentrated." Kushina clenched her jaw and forcibly turned her attention to her tea.

"So where have you been?" Kushina went rigid before slumping even further than before as her eyes become downcast and her face forlorn. "I was living in the ruins of Uzushio (Village Hidden by Whirling Tides, aka Village Hidden in Whirlpools) since the attack..." Mikoto didn't respond as she sipped her tea.

Kushina smiled a disheartened smile. "For years I believed that both my husband and child died on that night, I couldn't handle the thought of being in the same village that held host to my dead family and those killed by the Fox when it was ripped out of me-."

Mikoto spurted out her tea with a cough. "Wait, you were the last container?!" Roderick outside looked on in curiosity.

Kushina smiled morosely, "Yes... the seal I had for the Fox however was weakened by my pregnant state and someone..." She shook her head as her face contorted like she tasted something foul. "Someone wearing a mask came in by force, slain the staff and Biwako, and abducted Naruto to lure my husband away so a clone of his take advantage of the weakened state of the seal and I..." She rests the cup on the cup, props her elbows on top of the wood, and rests her heavy head onto her open hands.

"When I woke up from it all, an Anbu told me of the 'fate' of my family." Mikoto wordlessly refilled the solemn woman's cup.

"Before I even realized it, I was already several miles away from Konoha. With nowhere to call home, I went to Uzushio. No one was there, thus there would be no one to remind me of what happened..." Mikoto nodded, there was some logic to it.

"Before I knew it, about thirteen years past me by and a group of traders from Wave country used the ruins as a stopping point on their trip to the Land of Lightning. With them came news about a pair of Leaf teams that freed their country from a man named Gato. What actually peaked my interest was the mentioning of a boy with blond hair..." She smirked a little in a worn out fashion, "Naruto Uzumaki."

"At first I didn't want to believe that the Naruto they mentioned was the same one I bore in my belly and gave birth to... yet a question kept haunting my every waking moment. "

"What question was that?" Mikoto asked curiously.

"How many people associated with Konoha have blond hair and blues eyes that would be listed under my maiden name?"

Mikoto smirked a little. "A little too coincidental to you was it?"

Kushina smirked back. "Yeah... it was."

Mikoto's smirk changed back to its placid setting as she waits for Kushina to continue.

"Eventually I became so consumed by it I had to act, yet in my wildest fantasies I had not the courage to reenter Konoha to satisfy a question... so I did the next best thing..." She smiled and started to chuckle without prompting much to the confusion of Mikoto and their unknown observer. "You are going to love this-."

"You were the one who aided the Kiri rebels and hired those Mist teams to get as much information on Naruto during the exams weren't you?" Kushina gawked as she stared at her friend with a slack jaw and bulbous eyes. Mikoto inwardly was relishing the stolen thunder while cackling underneath that serene smile of hers. "How-."

"Itachi overheard some of the Genin talking about identifying Naruto for some reason. Add that to the lack of information the Jonin of the teams gave, plus you mentioned you went with the "next best thing" given your position. That and I know you, ending a civil war in a matter of days is right up your alley."

Kushina banged her head on the table crying out individual rivers of tears as her friend grinned to herself. "You could've let me bask in my own glory Mikoto!" She wailed. Said woman had to puff her cheeks to restrain the chortle wanting to escape.

Outside Roderick was shaking his head.

"So what are your plans regarding your son?" She managed to say seriously despite her fit.

Kushina straightened herself out and sighed as she grabbed her tea once more. "At first I was hoping to come back and be the mother he deserved after all these years... but the more I learn about him it seems that idea dies a little more with each word spoken." She took a sip from her tea. "The one person I know of that knows Naruto better than anyone else has a grudge against me for abandoning him after all these years and Itachi wasn't very informative outside Naruto's skill set and way of thinking..."

"Have you tried his 'girlfriends?'" Kushina blinked before looking up at Mikoto in uncertainty. "'Girlfriends?'"

"A small group of Genins who seem to be infatuated with your son for varying reasons. Tenten Bell, Hinata Hyuga, Haku Momochi, and Ino Yamanaka; though-." Before she could continue, Kushina sped around the table and ensnared her in a abrupt hug. "Thank you! I'm off to get to know my son better, see you later, bye!" As suddenly as the hug came, Kushina zoomed out the door fast enough to create a gale to pull papers and small furniture towards Kushina's escape path.

Mikoto smiled and returned to her tea, blissfully unaware of a figure dropping out of a tree outside the window.

**A/N: Sorry for the delayed turn in of this chapter, I have no excuse.**

**The fight with Otto actually had several variations to it, the one you read was the most feasible to me in regards of Naruto. And if you're howling for blood about Naruto being wounded, even the best get hurt time from time; Naruto is not invincible.**

**Otto's original appearance was actually something akin to The Shredder from the ****_Ninja Turtles_**** but that was a bit unoriginal, hence his appearance in this chapter as I reworked him to something that slightly matched more with the Naruto world as it was written, a ninja using guns! Odd, yes, but Naruto isn't the sole ninja to use firearms.**

**Also please note that the Grenade Machinegun is from ****_Fallout: New Vegas_****. No Deathclaws were harmed during the experimentation of- ok so a few were slaughtered... I swear one of them stole my shoe and I will find it!**

**I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**To Kirk-Vamp-Fan: Never thought I, nor anyone else in fanfiction, would say this but... REVIEW RAPE! REVIEW RAPE! I NEED A ADULT!**

**To TJG: I will admit I toyed with the extra abilities in the goggles idea long before your review and I'm still on the fence about it.**

**To Mecaldar: I was referring to the design of the Grenade Machinegun is from ****_New Vegas_****. Silenced grenade machineguns for the win though! Sorry for the confusion.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain. **

Assassin

Chapter 18: The Queen's mask and someone's musings

Konoha East gate, seven days since retrieving Tsunade

Some distance away Tsunade's blank eyes gazed over the once familiar shinobi village. Underneath the calm facade of her face was a myriad of emotions vying for supremacy against each other and her consciousness. Rage, despair, hope, regret, duty... emotions often ignored or selfishly indulged in amongst many others surfaced as she returned to the outskirts of what was her home.

She relaxed her contrasting tense body. Saying she would come back was one thing, actually doing it was another matter entirely. She had made many a claim to never returning to the village of the leaf shinobi, and now she was within walking distance to its gate.

A humorless smile adorned her lips as she rolled and rubbed her shoulder. "I suppose I can't run forever," she mused to herself.

XVX

Seven minutes later

"The village as a whole hasn't really changed much has it?" Tsunade asked with a wistful smile. Familiar albeit older faces were accounted for, buildings that had been built since the very beginning still stood, the Hokage monument towered over the village with a fourth face added as opposed to the three she remembered. Yep, not much has changed... her eye caught onto a tan blur with a purple outcropping followed by a blur of dark green and red outcropping. Both attracted the attention of their group. What happened next happened in slow motion for Tsunade.

Naruto shook his head and tried, _tried_ to step out of the way when he failed to notice a hook claw following behind the familiar menace till it was too late. Kurenai assumed the defensive as she squinted at the tan blur till her eyes widened in recognition; which widened even further when she was abducted by the blur as Naruto was dragged behind the blur when the hook found purchase on his greaves.

The green and red blur crashed into Jiriaya, somehow enabling the world to return to normal for Tsunade as a trio of screams became united in varying degrees of aggravated ire, "Damn it Ankooooo!" Two from the abductees and one from the red haired woman in a green dress with a white undershirt on shoving herself off of the floored Sannin. She paid no heed to the downed man as she jumped over him to resume her pursuit in renewed vigor. "White panties with frills." Jiriaya giggled perversely. The woman stoped, accentuating it with a foot smashing into the ground with enough force to crack it tailed by the aura Jiriaya had came to be familiar with over the decades... the aura of a woman wishing him death or the twisted substitute of death for someone like him; paraplegia (paralysis to the lower half of the body)! Frankly Jiriaya preferred death...

Growling, she turned her head predatorily to the Sannin. The aura flared up as she recognized him from long ago and her lips twisted into a 'serene' smile. "Hello Jiriaya, it's been awhile."

The man gawked as his fellow Sannin and her student looked out curiously, although slightly amused, for the older woman, at the prospect of Jiriaya receiving but another tally in his already impressive scoreboard of beatings.

The man paled as she gazed upon the familiar face, and figure, of one of the few women he ever had the ambivalent fortune to meet...

"Hi Kushina..." He squeaked as she clawed his way through the ground to avoid the advancing woman, unsure whether or not his fright lied with the fact his student's wife was alive and bound to maim him or in the fact she might actually kill him for the most recent transgression.

"You and I need to talk."

XVX

Susanoo's drink, twelve minutes and threatening the bouncer later

"Was it really necessary to kidnap us like that Anko?" Kurenai asked incredulously, Naruto already munching on takoyaki (octopus balls, not the genital kind!) long before the conversation began.

"Yep!" Anko cheerily said with a matching grin. She leaned on the table with both elbows with the grin still in place. "So how was the trip? I take it that blond with you two was Tsunade herself?"

"Yep," Naruto blandly said. Without warning an arm lashed out and swatted away Anko's hand as it neared his plate of takoyaki. "Traumatized, need comfort food." Anko scowled at the verbal, and physical, defense to her unspoken question after the 'attack.' "Oh and what traumatized you?" She challenged.

"You kidnapping us," Anko face-palmed as Kurenai smirked. "You know," the black haired woman started, "I could use some comfort food myself." She reached over and nabbed one of the balls with unfettered ease.

Anko "humphed" and crossed her arms as she jutted her chin up indignantly. "This is the thanks I get for worrying about you two? Fine! Just goes to show me who my friends really are!" She cried indignantly.

"Can I have seconds please?"

"Make that two plates of takoyaki."

Anko twitched both body and brow...

XVX

Konoha rooftops

Another reason to add to the list Zabuza stayed in Konoha, chase scenes were funny. It was a universal fact when the stakes are not dire, at least to those watching it from afar.

"I'm sorry!" Jiriaya pleadingly screamed as he ran away from the wife of the late Fourth, bits of hair were torn out and left bald spots on his scalp, clothes were ripped or slashed, and somewhere along the way he had lost a sandal in his bid to escape the irate red, in both body and hair, woman. "I'm not done talking to you yet!" She vehemently yelled back as Jiriaya jumped through a stand in a ditch effort to escape her...

"It's fun when you're not the one being chased," Zabuza mused.

"Not the face! Not the face! Wait I take that- AAAAAAAAAH!"

Zabuza's jaw dropped and he instinctively closed his legs and tucked both hands between his legs... "Poor bastard..."

XVX

Susanoo's drink

"You could at least consider letting me have one!" Anko whined as Kurenai savored the second-to-last ball as Naruto feigned ignorance to the complaint.

Too add insult to injury, Kurenai sensuously moaned as she swallowed the snack. Anko glared as her best friend continued to torment her by licking her fingers. "You know," Kurenai finished licking the fingers guilty of feeding her, "I am not opposed to letting you have the last takoyaki," she said sweetly. Eagerly Anko dove a hand to the ball, stopping halfway across the table as she cast a dodgy glance at Naruto who was staring back. She narrowed her eyes and went to snatch the takoyaki without looking... her hand spread out to hunt it down on the plate. She looked over and gawked to find it gone!

With a heated glare, her gaze returned to a uncharacteristically grinning Naruto. He held up both hands and mouthed, "Innocent." Her heated gaze turned to Kurenai adorned with a innocent yet slightly mischievous smile. She eyed the plate for clues only for her peripheral vision to take notice of a dark scaly something nearby the empty plate. Her head turned slightly to eye a dark purple snake with white diamonds decorating it trying to devour the ball whole.

"That has to be a abuse of the summoning contract," Anko deadpanned.

XVX

Hokage office, Hokage tower, twent-three minutes later

"It will take a few days, but we'll have the inauguration in a few weeks Lady Tsunade," a member of the council said before bowing and leaving Tsunade and her apprentice alone. With a sigh, Tsunade leaned back into what would officially be her chair and spun around to lookout at the village. The smallest of smiles found itself on her lips as she thought she could hear Jiriaya's screams of agony and terror from inside the office despite the length of time between abandoning him to his fate to now.

Without prompting Tsunade clapped her hands together, "Right, let's check out the bars shall we?"

"Actually Lady Tsuande..." Something was plopped onto the desk behind her... something heavy. Cautiously she turned herself around to see a stack of papers dominating the table followed by another stack being transported by Shizune. "I do believe we should take care of the paperwork that has accumulated in this office." Tsunade paled and dared look past Shizune to see if those were the only stacks to deal with... it wasn't.

XVX

Susanoo's drink

Anko sipped from her sake saucer, still upset over being beaten by a snake to the takoyaki and neither of her friends had order more. Sure she could order some for herself... but where was the fun of that?

"So anything new happened?" She asked.

"Well we did just escort the new Hokage into town." A sandal uselessly kicked a greave.

"He quite potentially made it to the top of Orochimaru's hit list and he has a mercenary organization after him," Kurenai nonchalantly said as she observed Anko while Naruto palmed his face as he shook his head.

"Managed to piss Orochi-... wait, what?" Anko dumbly said as she caught onto the second part. Any reply was cut short when Jiriaya came crashing through the wall, whether he was thrown through it or actually ran into it remains a mystery to the bar's regulars as a enraged Red Death of Konoha stepped through the hole in the wall.

"Time to go," Anko yanked Naruto out of his seat before he could retaliate and fled through crashing into a window... followed by at least four more bodies, Naruto not included, as the more experienced Jonin inhabiting the bar had the same idea.

Kurenai blinked in confusion at the occurrences around her. "What's going on?"

XVX

Konoha alley, three minutes later

If Tsunade could cackle, she would out of the thrill of eluding her apprentice thanks to the blind spot the towering wall of paperwork provided. Unfortunately this did not prevent her apprentice in going on the hunt for the Sannin. Being familiar with the Sannin's habits, Shizune knew where to look for her... it was one of many undesirable perks to having a apprentice follow one around for years.

"How did Hiruzen-sensei handle so much paperwork?" She pitifully mumbled to herself.

"It may have something to do with actually doing it." Tsunade froze and darted her head around to spot the verbal antagonist that may or may not somehow conjure her apprentice out of thin air. When she finally found the source she had to puff her cheeks to restrain herself from laughing. Naruto was hanging like a limp bedroll from the crook of a grinning purple haired woman wearing a tan trench coat, a brown tan skirt, and a mesh body suit that ran down to her thighs.

"Hey you're the new Hokage aren't you? Nice to meet you, I'm Anko Mitarashi from the Interrogation apartment!" She gave the woman a rather _deep_ bow and grinned as she straitened herself with a agitated Naruto hanging loosely in her grip. The grin got bigger when Tsunade's small spurts of amusement escaped.

"Well I'm sure you already know this bundle of energy here," her point was emphasized further by knocking off Naruto's bandana to reveal his golden hair and rubbing a hand vigorously through it, eliciting a growl reminiscent to a annoyed cat.

"So what brings the Hokage to the fine backstreets of Konoha if I may ask?" Anko asked rather cheerily.

"I-uh... Just taking a breather," the unofficial Hokage said unconvincingly, followed by a nervous chuckle. She tensed however when Naruto discreetly looked up at something above her, her own gaze traveled up to see Shizune with flames burning with hellfire as she stood at the edge of the roof as she peered down at them.

Tsunade jumped when Anko somehow teleported herself close enough to whisper into her ear, "I can help you out of this in exchange for a few days off."

"Deal."

Shizune scowled in mid-descent to capture the runaway Hokage thanks to that woman in the trench coat.

XVX

Another three minutes later, Forest of Death

"So, going to talk or need I beat the information out of you?"

"Was tying me up and dangling me upside down really necessary Anko?"

"I kind of like it."

"See? I told you I have taste!"

"That's because you bribed her with sake to help you."

"Hey, I am not ashamed to admit I take advantage where I can; I am not greedy enough to ask for more than one thing in a dire emergency."

"Here's to character!"

Anko howled in laughter as Tsunade chugged her bottle, leaving Naruto to fume and roll his upside down eyes. abruptly Anko ceased and jabbed a finger a good inch from Naruto's face. "Alright, talk."

"Quick question, what exactly is this about?" Tsunade asked, the tinge of alcohol already making its way to the boundaries of her voice.

"Apparantly Naruto, despite his reputation as a Genin, has managed to attract the attention of some kind of mercenary group. Now who are they and for what reason are they looking for you?" Her finger lowered and pushed against Naruto till his suspended body was pushed back; he started to swing back and forth when the finger retreated.

"Very funny Anko, very funny..." Naruto mumbled as the special Jonin grinned ear to ear.

"Akatsuki and to kill me, now would you be so- Mmph!" Anko's hand covered his mouth, effectively ending the request and inadvertently granting it by Naruto's opinion. "Come again?" She asked seriously.

"That would be the first time I heard that," Tsunade voiced in; her expertise of the human body kicking into overdrive to, reluctantly, purge the effects of her favorite beverage. Naruto narrowed his eyes moments before Anko's hand left him.

"A question before I go into detail: has Jiriaya said anything to you? Anything at all that would hint or suggest that maybe... just maybe... there was a group of shinobi interested in me or Konoha?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "The closest thing that match your criteria was you and Kurenai tormenting him with genjutsu and snakes."

"Interesting..."

Anko scowled a little. "What is going on here?!" Was her private thought as she and Tsunade waited patiently for Naruto to continue as his eyes glazed over in thought. Without word or warning, Anko whiped out a kunai and slashed at the ropes after all sense of comical appeal evaporated; instead of meeting the ground headfirst, Naruto plants both hands on the ground and propels himself back to a rock that quickly became his seat.

Taking a gauntlet off, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck like one would handle a crick in the neck. "Well it's suspicious but I _suppose_ he has his reasons, or perhaps was waiting till you were in office before telling you."

Tsunade firmly crossed her arms under her bust and slowly tapped her arm with a lone finger. "Either way, it seems reckless to me," Naruto added in a verbal afterthought.

Jabbing a thumb to himself, Naruto continues unabated, "You're already going to find out about this anyway if you do choose to stay as the Hokage, I am the container of the Nine-tailed Fox... which in all likelihood probably was not mentioned in our trip by Jiriaya." If Tsunade was surprised, she did not show it.

Taking a glance at Anko, Naruto sighed and cracked his neck for seemingly no purpose in Tsunade's eyes. "Until we were... attacked," Anko's gaze narrowed, "Jiriaya decided it was time to reveal what he knows of a group known as The Akatsuki. From what I learned they are after all the containers of the Bijuu regardless of power or affiliation. As you can imagine, they have in their employ shinobi more than capable of handling themselves when the fight is brought to them for the purpose of collecting and harvesting Bijuu." Tsunade's hand twitched.

Closing her eyes and then reopening in a hard but weary fashion. "Regardless of the action, people are going to die aren't they?"

"Yes."

Uncrossing her arms, Tsunade brought her hands to the back of her head and silently blew a breath. With eyes locked forward, she slowly turned on her heel and made to leave the small grove of the infamous forest; paperwork now a distant worry in her mind.

"Hey..."

She turned to stare at the Genin as he scratched the back of his head with his eyes averted but a fraction up to give the illusion of him looking straight at her. "You know Shadow Clones may help if the paperwork. They bring back what they remember and such..."

The smallest of smiles finds itself on Tsunade's face as she turns away. "I might just do that," she says before walking away at a sedate pace.

A tired sigh found its way to Naruto's ears followed by a body plopping behind him and even leaning slightly against his back. "Just when you think you have the world figured out it turns around to give you a kick in the ass, eh?" A hollow chuckle escapes Anko as she uses her arms as support more than Naruto's back. Her face became more solemn and her body sagged a little.

"Why is it that I suspect you didn't get your information from the pervert?" She asked. The wrinkling of paper by her ear drew a hand to inspect it. She withdrew a fairly battered parchment and opened it; a worn smile found its way as she voiced her thoughts, "I never did meet her did I?"

"She did have a habit to keeping to herself from the village at large..." Naruto mused.

"Eight-to-nine S-rank shinobi," Anko whistled lowly at that. "Think at least one of them would be stupid enough to stand still?" Naruto smirked, "Doubting my skills?" He said in exaggerated haughtiness.

"Well your own mother captured you for the sake of appearances..."

"Touché..."

A moment of silence passed.

"So what happened that got under your skin here in the village?" Naruto asked.

"It's that obvious, eh?" she replied with a solemn smirk of her own.

"Well you did make off with only me and left Kurenai at that bar with Jiriaya, apparent ass-kicking aside that is." Naruto said pointedly.

"Yeah... I did not think that out..." She admitted.

Naruto remained silent as he awaited the reply to his question...

"You know, unless you accepted that fact or lived through it in some way, the idea of one having two mothers is kind of weird. The birth mother and the woman who was actually there for you... my mind can understand the facts, but my soul can't. "Why wasn't the birth mother there? Was there something wrong with this woman? Is the birth mother a fool?" Those questions get roared out by my primal thoughts when the thought crosses my mind..." Knowingly or not, she leaned back even further against Naruto.

"Burūmūn wasn't the only one to 'come back from the dead' as it were."

"Tell me..." The world got little more quite. "Is she looking for an Uzumaki or that name?"

Anko rolled her head back and wearily looked up at the patches of the freshly born night sky. "I left long before I figured that out..."

Naruto blew a drawn breath as he looked out just as wearily. Kushina, wife of the Fourth Hokage... his biological mother...

"Hey... Naruto?" Anko languidly asked.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked over his shoulder.

"Am I a fool for worrying about being left alone once again?"

Naruto didn't respond at first. A frown creased her lips when she felt her arms taking on the weight of her body as Naruto pulled away. Misery started to gnaw at her... till it was beset with warm confusion as small flares of hope burned through her when two naked hands snaked around her from behind and brought her into a hug.

"Last I recall "fool" was not in the name of Anko Mitarashi," he said. She could easily imagine a small smile on him as he spoke. "But yes, it is a bit foolish to think that." She scoffed and whacked at Naruto's hand with her own with a small amount of satisfaction. "Regardless..." She smile as she knew what will come next.

"... I would still think of you as my, albeit annoying, big sister."

Her smile grows more serene as she chuckles to quietly. "Thanks Naruto..." She says as quietly.

Naruto clears his throat. "Yeah, yeah, "this never happened." Your lovable soft side is safe-..." She paused when felt him stiffen. A quick glance to Naruto's gawping eyes and following the imaginary line drawn by them lead her to one of the least expected to be spotted observing them...

Haku Momochi kneeling on a tree branch, a rather stunned yet slightly smiling Haku Momochi.

It was too good...

At first Anko wasn't sure what to feel. Then her cheeks started puffing up...

"Looks like your little secret is out!" She cackled and clutched her sides. She continued to howl in amusement when she felt the weight of Naruto's dejected head resting on her shoulder, and her laughter grew in height when she heard that familiar annoyed cat growl of his.

Haku meanwhile shook her head as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment, for what or whom she wasn't sure. She leapt down to the grove below as Naruto let go of a hysterical Anko to collapse on the boulder that was their seat. While Anko continued to howl in laughter, Naruto collected his previously discarded gauntlets as he fought down a blush from the 'situation' at hand before turning to leave... with Haku at his side.

XVX

"So how long have you been there?" A handful of minutes passed as they leisurely walked through the forest few dared enter to by choice, Anko's voice, and slightly accursed laughter, had long since died out in the night.

"Since the Shadow Clones advice to who I assume was Lady Tsunade..."

A cacophony of crickets and various nighttime birds with the occasional roar of a nocturnal predator hummed through the night as they continued their sedate trek to the gates.

"Naruto..." He stopped and turned to witness his teammate gliding over the ground like a ghost till she embrace him with outstretched arms. She rested her head on his armored shoulder, not caring for the cool metal protecting him that left her uncomfortable, and spoke quietly into his ear, "I'm not going to ask what you're not ready to give. All I ask is that you come back alive from all this... I don't think any of us will forgive you if you die." A smile finds itself on her face when Naruto returned the hug; one hand unarmored...

XVX

Hokage's office

Tsunade fingered the necklace that was her Grandfather's as she gazed out at the city bathed in night and lights, or rather she took it upon herself to view the faces carved into stone in honor of the Hokages before her. Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and her Grandfather. Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage her Granduncle. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage and her sensei. Minato Namakaze, the Fouth Hokage and by rights her predecessor in position...

Was being Hokage worth it?

She thought she resolved this back in Tankatzu town. Her eye turned to the statue honoring her late sensei and she could hear the faintest of voices murmuring unintelligibly through her mind. It almost sounded like her sensei's voice... no.

It almost sounded like Dan's... not it.

Nawaki's?

Kurenai's...

Shizune's...

Naruto's...

It was a strange sensation as voice after voice joined in and memories flooded her. Team Hiruzen together again, her grandfather messing up her hair, her grandmother comforting her, her sensei on one of his speeches, Nawaki's desire to be Hokage, Dan and her on a date... her eyes closed and she leaned back into the chair.

When she opened her eyes to once again take in the image of the monument she mused to herself, "For better or worse we all move forward regardless of the destination don't we?" The image of Naruto's scowling face being pinched by an amused Kurenai. "You all strove to protect what you cared about didn't you?" A virtual army from the past and present gathered in her mind...

XVX

Ten minutes later

"Oink!"

Where asking Haku to help here debatably failed, Tonton came through.

Shizune threw open the doors of the office with the proclaiming "Ah ha!" of someone catching a child with their hand in the cookie jar. Her jaw dropped and threatened to disconnect itself when she saw a plethora of Tsunade clones _demolishing_ the last vestiges of the paperwork mountain range.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" One Tsunade asked without looking up from her share of the paper work.

"I-... Uh... I-uh..." Her paralyzed mind unable to form words over this shocking turn of events.

"Take a deep breath, you were trained better than this after all," another one chimed in.

A deep breath was taken indeed... much like a nearly drowned swimmer in the ocean. "Just what is going on here?!" She shouted hysterically. Her mind still too frazzled to properly function. Every Tsunade in existence scowled and turned to her. "Would you keep it quiet please?"

"That was uncalled for Shizune."

"Well considering our track record..."

"Yeah I guess it can be understood."

The rest murmured in agreement as Shizune continued to stupidly stare out. Tsunade, the original most likely, formed the familiar hand sign for the Shadow Clone technique and a doppelganger poofed into existence and promptly escorted Shizune out of the room with Tonton being carried out by the numbed apprentice. Every Tsunade smirked and returned to work when the doors closed behind the trio.

XVX

Konoha

"What exactly is going on?" Shizune numbly asked, her mind swimming uneasily as it tried to properly reboot itself.

"You could say I found a reason to work," 'Tsunade' replied.

"Uh?" 'Her' apprentice's mind was still out of order.

'Tsunade' chuckled slightly and tried to elaborate when she spotted a familiar figure minding her own business as her form slipped in and out of the street lights till she spotted the duo, trio if she counted Tonton. "Oh, good to see you Lady Hokage. Turning in for the night I take it?" Anko cheerily asked.

'Tsunade' opened her mouth in reply till her eyes bulged out when Anko stepped into the light once more to reveal a feature she somehow missed.

Anko raised a brow. "What?"

'Tsunade' pointed at her hair. "Something's in my hair?" Anko asked and combed through her 'lovingly' cared for hair. 'Tsunade' shook her head and gestured for her to pull down a lock.

The younger kunoichi huffed and did just that. At first she didn't notice it for a brief second...

Ever so slowly her features from the eye to her jaw chose to recognize a drastic change that had be done to her naturally purple hair... just in time for her spare hand to find a note tucked into the folds of her hair. She quickly lashed it out and unfolded in plain view.

"Hope you enjoy the new look... -N," she mouthed silently.

A gust of wind blew by the trio of kunoichi.

"You just had to choose orange didn't ya brat?" Anko growled. In her mind It. Was. On.

Before either the Sannin clone or the stunned apprentice could response in any fashion, Anko took off like a bullet screaming "Revenge!"

The clone smirked however. "That may serve to be a counterpoint but some things are worth protecting in this village. I came to realize that. Even if it's a petty prank war between two friends."

She turned around with Shizune in tow. "I have to wonder however. How did Naruto dye her hair without her knowledge?" The clone asked herself.

XVX

Lakeshore park

Kushina sat on the bench listlessly. She screwed up. For one moment she had found her son, only for him to be abducted by that vengeful purple haired kunoichi that was Naruto's friend, and the fact that she wailed on Jiriaya for a few hours had severely crippled her chances in finding him for the day; night if she was to go into technicalities.

"He certainly grown up some didn't he?" She asked herself.

XVX

Konoha

A lone figure stalked through the shadows of Konoha with a wary eye to the details. It was said the Mystery Man capable of phasing in and out of existence using the shadows as his medium without being noticed. Poppycock. Yet there was always a grain of truth in rumors. Many would kill for the degree of stealth this person commanded. But that was not the issue. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts without anyone observing him if it was helped.

His hopes were collapsing upon itself thanks to failures and unforeseen factors introducing themselves. The death of the idiots housed at Warehouse Nine and the missing documents from it one such case. Thankfully nothing was there to hint to his identity, but now someone was aware of some kind of plot about the boy, hopefully the death of his moronic lackeys had also killed off any suspicions for the future.

The Uchiha clan was still in existence thanks to Danzo's blunder; someone like Itachi was far more effective than a sentimental reject. Granted he wanted at least one member left alive, and Sasuke seemed to fit the bill he was looking for before his rather slammed the book shut; unless Naruto was some kind of citizen, he figured, he would be duty bound to watch over or chase a unstable worm of a boy if he was a fellow shinobi. A mistake was bound to happen somewhere to the Genin that he could take advantage over.

Danzo was dead; who done it was still in dispute considering the man's dealings and the fact that he hide from the world for a reason. He himself was a suspect if people knew and words can only go so far to protect him.

Naruto's personality made things a tad harder; he was not like his gullible mother at all. His skills and contract also prove he can defend himself when shoved.

The return of Kushina Namakaze; Danzo assured him she wasn't going to interfere. He also thought he wasn't likely to die in his personal fortress either, the fool. His only hope in regards to that other than murder was that there would be some division between mother and son where they both wish each other's deaths.

If his ability to read people hasn't failed then he was sure Naruto was concocting some kind of plan against the Akatsuki. To make matters worse, his personal fears that the Fox's energy wasn't even going to be involved. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised given the failure of the Warehouse incident.

A hand whipped out and destroyed the corner of a building. What kind he neither knew or cared as he trudged on. His mind was on a more important issue.

Things were not going as he planned it.

**A/N: Really didn't think Danzo was the sole puppeteer of Konoha did ya?**

**Still... REVEIW RAPE!**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Eterguy: For what it's worth I do apologize for that.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain. **

Assassin

Chapter 19: To note the past, present, and future

Susanoo's Food

A bar named as such was one thing.

"May I take your order Sir? Madam?"

Naming a restaurant was a subject on its own.

"Very good, I'll be out with your drinks in but a moment."

The name itself just made it odd while the restaurant itself was hardly any different from any other high end restaurant. Frankly he expected it to be much like the bar given the their similar names. Same god's name, different owners apparently.

"Are you okay Naruto?" She blushed slightly as she twiddled with her own hands under the table to control herself.

Could've gone something more suited to the restaurant's appearance however. Delicacy, Nourishment, Sustenance... "Food" just undervalues it.

"I'm fine, Temari." He reassured her. The only real inconvenience, aside from Kushina and Anko more or less stalking him for two very different reasons, was the name of restaurant. Who puts "Food" with a god's name? Susanoo's Drink made much more sense. It was a bar! It could afford to be coarse!

At least neither female terror would suspect him to be here... let alone to be on one thing that many would associate with as the coming of the apocalypse, a date.

The typical dynamic of a date in terms of goals, provided that neither party wasn't hoping to bed the other by the end of it, is to prove or disprove the ability to become a companion of a more intimate level. In Naruto's case, that was not a prospect he was aiming for. He had come to learn that Ino Yamanaka had given up in her hunt for the bandana wearer thanks to Sakura Haruno, who he had thanked thoroughly in regards to that. Fate however seemed to have deemed there be a fourth member to the little war over him, Temari Taiyo was to take Ino's place; it would remain three maximum if he had anything to say about it.

With any luck he could dull her interest in him enough to make it a friendly relationship only if not a mutual one, it was not conducive for his or a mission's regard if he had to work with her in the future and she had a grudge after all.

XVX

Part of Temari started to regret this date. Most of it was spent in silence between her and Naruto till _she_ asked a question. Most of his replies were rather terse, and the ones that were answered in length...

"... semi-automatics are generally better in situations requiring control or marksmanship..."

... were about guns. From bullet speeds to weapon type, magazine to the model, add-ons to maintenance. Still it was nice to hear that _in theory_ she could stop a bullet with a wind jutsu... if she knew it was coming. At the very least she could steer it from its intended path if she was up against a sniper rifle, provided that she knew it was coming.

Not that she was going to try to anytime soon if she could help it.

Her mind wandered back to when she first considered dating him...

_(Flashback!)_

Konoha West gate

"Is that a blush I see?" Kankuro teased as the Sand Sibling team departed from Konoha along with several other Chunin and Jonin from Suna. "Shut up..." She grumbled. Her growl fell upon deaf and unsure ears.

Gaara merely watched on from a distance, unable to truly comprehend what was going on.

"Let me guess, the gunman is just as dangerous when on the prowl as he is on the battlefield?" Kankuro teased further.

Temari's cheeks darkened as she growled once more, "Shut up Kankuro."

The puppeteer grinned satisfactorily, "So he is a playboy eh?"

The grin quickly turned into a grimace by right of a fist planting itself into his arm. "Geeze!" He exclaimed as he rubbed his tender arm. "Do you have to be so rough?" A growl was his response.

Gaara actually veered himself away from his siblings as a precaution.

"Not to dash your hopes or anything," Kankuro grunted in pain, "but you may want to reconsider going out with him." His spine shuddered when Temari directed a glare at him. "I'm just saying that if you noticed or not, he has three other girls after him. I mean consider it, what kind of guy would have three girls after him?! Think of the competition at least!" To his utter relief, the glare lessened considerably, especially when Temari turned to the road once more.

Kankuro was right on both counts in Temari's mind, at best she was only vaguely aware of the rivalry going on over Naruto considering the invasion that was to happen. As a result she was at a loss on what to do.

She could go after him but there were the other kunoichi to contend with, and there was no guarantee he would recuperate her budding feelings; there is something to be said for someone who would not, deliberately, "play the field" as it were. So far the only redeeming feature that kept her thoughts on the bandana wearer was the fact he chosen to spare the lives of both her and her little brother Gaara, a choice that he "could live with."

Compared to most stories of shinobi encounters, that was something onto itself to her.

Ultimately she was at a loss.

"What should I do?" She wondered to herself...

"Uh... Perhaps..."

Aloud apparently since Gaara spoken up.

"Perhaps..." Gaara's mouth closed yet his jaw continued to move as if to chew on the unfamiliar words. "Should... go out... with the Uzumaki?" He half asked, half suggested with a nervous smile. It was the most he had said to either sibling in the years since the incident with their uncle... not to mention to oddest sight to see on their brother's face.

It was a small suggestion... but in all likelihood the solution. Temari smiled back. "Thank you Gaara," she said. Her youngest sibling nervous smile evolved into a more sincere one.

_(End Flashback!)_

Since then she had hoped and partially planned this moment to happen. She could only do so much since they lived in separate villages after all. It was more akin to the luck of the draw that her team was selected to deliver Suna's amended treaty. Just as it was luck that she encountered Naruto.

Part of her actually felt relief from Naruto's boring lectures. He wasn't a creep looking for something from her, not that he was one to begin with judging from the limited time they spent together; a little rude perhaps but nothing offensive. He wasn't impolite, and thankfully vain, enough to not inquire about her; though the subjects were her health and opinion of minute things such as the restaurant's name which for some reason he had issues with. Of course "Food" did undervalue it considering their atmosphere...

She shook her head to get back on track and eyed her date's attire. It was a rather simple get up of a black dress shirt followed by slacks, belt, and dress shoes. The belt buckle was darkened much like the armor she had seen him wear. His bandana had been replaced with custom made hat of some kind (driver's cap style) also black. It was a bit curious to her for his choice of apparel; most people she knew only wore black for fashion or intimidation where Naruto seemingly worn it to avoid drawing the eye. The only thing that stood out from him was the golden hair she became familiar with when she tackled him as it escaped in a small water fall at the back of his head.

If anyone drew more attention to them however, it was her. For the occasion she wore a tan dress yukata with white sakura petals adorning it that reached all the to her wrists and down to her calves with blue shorts and a cream undershirt tucked away from sight underneath, but it was moot in her opinion.

Once again her mind returned to the list about Naruto: Date-wise he had yet sparked any real interest on Temari's behalf, which was the reason she was partially glad for. If she was right, then the worst that could happen this evening was the dousing of uncertain flames.

XVX

Konoha Market square, seven-thirty-two P.M.

Anko vehemently growled as she was hanging upside down from a lamp post with her mouth gagged with her hair once again dyed to a color not natural to her. Orange was bad enough, an assorted set of colors often associated with a rainbow was easily worse.

Moments ago she had the unfortunate encounter of the more recently dubbed Prankster of Konoha, all that is known about her was she had the same mastery of stealth as the Mystery Man yet had a penchant for her namesake. Anko was but another tally to her long list of suspected crimes ranging from animal cruelty, according to one distressed Tsume Inuzuka at least... to Anko it was hilarious to see shinobi dogs dyed pink, to vandalism including but not limited to murals depicting of foreign worlds or battles ranging from unknown individual creatures to entire armies wielding what appeared to be more advanced versions of the modern day guns that were plastered to the sides of entire buildings.

No one was really sure where they stood regarding the Prankster. Unless they were provoked, much like Anko was as she tossed herself around while screaming muffled promises of revenge. She just got her hair back to normal damn it!

XVX

Drawing room, Namikaze estate

"Frankly I wouldn't put it past him to get back at me for that," Tsunade replied coolly before taking a sip from her sake saucer.

From what she could gather, Kushina Namikaze had taken it upon herself to reunite with her estranged and difficult son Naruto Uzumaki; her attempts have yet to bear fruit since he made himself scarce, especially since the hair-dye incident with Anko. Whether he was deliberately avoiding her or not Tsunade couldn't say, but she knew well enough that forcing a problematic family together in a mission would not bode well. Especially if one of them could sneak into her office without being noticed. Though it would most likely be non-lethal... well Naruto did have a association with Anko; something was bound to happen that would make her regret it.

Kushina sighed and sunk her head onto her hands as they sat atop the desk, ending it all with a groan. "Is there nothing that can be done?" She asked herself.

Tsunade settled herself more comfortably in her chair as she looked on.

"He outright hates me, doesn't he?" Kushina asked out of the blue.

"All I know is he isn't remotely fond of Minato," the Hokage replied. If possible Kushina sunk even further into the desk.

Tsunade sighed and gulped down the last of the liquor. "The most I can do is offer you advice," Tsunade said casually, Kushina's weary eyes peered up from her makeshift pillow. "Don't pursue him." The red head lifted herself to retort but was cut down with a decisive finger raised up by the blond. "I'm not finished," she stated sternly.

"What I mean is give him time to adjust. Forcing an encounter on him isn't going to help your case, at least in the short run. In all likelihood he isn't sure what to make of this considering he grew up all his life without anyone kin to him Just give him time and hopefully he'll at least be on talking terms with you."

The matriarch of the Namikaze clenched her jaw and rested her head in defeat once more.

"The most I can do," Kushina looked up in worn curiosity, "is talk to him. At least give you an idea of what his thoughts are about the whole thing."

In the same worn out fashion her soul was in, Kushina smiled up at the Hokage. "I suppose that's something."

XVX

Konoha street, eight-oh-seven P.M.

"Mission accomplished." Naruto mentally patted himself on the back. A most Temari most likely viewed him as a comrade in arms if they met under the same banner in battle let alone a basic street encounter.

The meals and drinks were paid for, Temari didn't really learn much about him and vice versa, they went their separate ways after the restaurant at Temari's insistence, and life was good.

That was until he sensed a familiar presence... life was no longer good.

"Naruto, my youthful friend! I formerly request a spar from you to test my flames of youth against yours!" Lee exclaimed merrily from atop a nearby rooftop.

Like many experienced Jonin, Genin, and some Chunin before him had down, he fled. He fled with the younger of the Beasts of Konoha in hot pursuit...

XVX

Konoha Smith street

Neji felt his blood run cold as the shadows of doubt nipped at the back of his mind. A year ago Tenten's face was as easy to read like a book, now it was getting harder and harder to tell if she was even annoyed. Experience and the slight narrowing of the eyes were the only means to indicate she was still... 'upset' with him. Perhaps he should've waited a few months. Or a year. Or after she had a disabling injury. Whichever came first and improved his chances to live quite frankly.

Perhaps having this encounter during the day would improve his chances significantly.

But despite all the now post-laden ideas, here he was now trying to apologize to his female teammate. His window to getting out alive was shrinking by the second however with each moment of silence spent between the two.

And then the unexpected happened to bail him out much to his relief and misery. "What-was-that-Neji? You-propose-to-train-yourself-with-your-remaining-arm-by-walking-on-one-hand-for-a-mile-per-day?" Neji turned to spy the speaker, his mind trying to process what was said in such a hasten tongue that he failed to spot the speaker... only to spot the only person who could conceivably hear it under the circumstances.

"Neji! Such a youthful idea that is! I shall join you in your training as of right now! If i cannot do that then I'll do two-hundred kicks to a training post! If I cannot do that..."

Death was starting to sound fairly nice to Neji now.

XVX

Bell Weaponry

"You're unusually dressed this evening," she casually commented as she strolled through the door of the darkened shop with Naruto but a second behind.

"Well it's considered a bit rude to wear a combat suit and armor in a restaurant, isn't it?"

Tenten smirked as she placed a package on the nearby cashier's counter and soon went around it. "Tea?"

"Yes please."

The lights shuddered on as Tenten passed through a door leading to the depths of the shop.

Naruto turned and eyed a rack of kunai, each one too different to be used as a regular kunai as they were serrated, pronged, or even curved. "I take it you already know what I was doing earlier?" He called out. A muffled "Yes" reached his ears.

He picked up one of the pronged kunai. A tri-prong kunai to be specific. It was only lacking the seal to make it a exact copy of the infamous technique The Fourth Hokage was made infamous for by his enemies.

His eyes narrowed as they glazed over. No matter the argument presented to him he always came to the same conclusion regarding the man. In the face of a sudden onslaught against a creature associated with disaster what choices were readily available? Though he cannot blame the Hokage at the time, it didn't mean he would like him. His grip tightened around the replica.

A sweet herby aroma assailed his nose from underneath, garnering the smallest of smiles to jerk against his lips. The kunai was laid to rest on its original spot and the tea was taken from the offering hand.

Without resistance, Naruto was lead to a nearby stool by the kunoichi.

"Admittedly," she started, "I was hurt to find you on a date with someone. I was even annoyed to find it wasn't either Hinata or Haku you were with. I actually stopped and stared through the window when I spotted you two."

She took a sip of her own as she settled herself more comfortably on the stool while leaning on the counter. "Tell me, were you deliberately planning to bore her to death?"

"Would you prefer there to be three contenders rather than two?"

"How considerate of you." Naruto smirked and turned to the counter, an arm resting on it as he drank his tea. A position mirrored by Tenten.

"A question if I may," Naruto turned to his only companion as she turned slightly with an apologetic smile. A curious brow started to rise only to sink back into place...

"Is the reason you won't give your heart out because you're afraid something like Burūmūn's disappearance would happen once more?"

Her gaze turned to the racks of storage scrolls resting along the wall behind the counter as Naruto turned every fiber of his being to her. a mirthless smile adorned her face. "I got dragged into more than one meeting with the old man." Naruto kept staring.

"At first I thought you were keeping yourself distant becuase you were in essence shy, afraid of being rejected even. No offense of course. Then a woman came along who offered me a different point of view; you weren't looking for a relationship to protect others who couldn't defend themselves from your enemies. Then I met the old man..."

Tenten chuckled slightly. "I have to ask, is he always like how he is as long as you known him or is it because he isn't familiar with me?"

"I half suspect he'll burst into flames if he hugged someone," he admitted.

Tenten giggled. "I feel a bit better than," she got out between small gasps.

She finally calmed down and took a sip of tea before clearing her throat. "Admittedly he never told me much unless I asked him. The truth is I only thought you had one mother... your biological mother." She neither noted nor cared the subtle twitch of Naruto's hand in the corner of her eye.

"Haku came to me a few days ago and told me about your... 'predicament,'" her features became more solemn. She shook her head and continued before she lost even more momentum in her resolve. "I was shocked to learn of your heritage, but it was nothing compared to the confusion wrought from Haku. I thought Kushina Namikaze never came near Konoha till recently..."

She smiled a accomplished smile. "Took me two days to find the old man."

Naruto sighed and returned to the counter himself. Nothing more was needed to be said on her part. Haku telling her was indeed surprising, but not unexpected considering that he and Itachi had a discussion over the Akatsuki the day after Haku eavesdropped on him and Anko; more specifically about his mother.

"If she did it all for personal gain then I would oppose her," Itachi's answer to Naruto's question to his stance about her.

Now he had to mentally prepare himself for Hinata's reaction to this...

"Yes."

Tenten solemnly nodded in acknowledgement and tucked her hands under her chin. She glanced over at the blond haired shinobi and frown slightly when he took his hat off in favor of running a hand through his hair. With a mental snap of her fingers she reached over the counter, her stomach flush with the wooden board, and pull out a drawer to be ransacked as Naruto watched on with interest.

She smiled to herself as she retrieved something... a black something. Naruto gawked as he recognized what it is when she handed it to him. "I guess I'm too use to you with a bandana, but I think a hat doesn't do you justice."

Her smile got a little wider as Naruto fingered a familiar blue embroidery before wrapping it around his head. "May I ask where you found it?"

Her smile turned into a slightly mischievous grin. "The mansion isn't as well guarded as people think."

"So the Mist teams were indeed hired by her."

"It would seem so."

"I take it the bandana was actually a gift from your mother?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah... I honestly thought it was lost in the fight against Gaara."

"Mmmh." Tenten turned around and leaned back against the counter, an idle eye caught a glimpse at a clock along the wall. Eight-fifty-seven. Both her parents were out for night still to see some kind of movie. Her smile returned when she looked upon Naruto as he fidgited with his bandana till all the details were accounted for.

XVX

Back chambers, Hidden base, Land of Sound

Another life was cut short as a shinobi's white haired head was used to acted as a door knocker to Orochimaru's personal chamber. Whether it worked or not was moot when the now dead shinobi's head was destroyed along with the door's ability to bar access. With a groan the barrier gave way to the intruder as he stalked forward. Those that could flee fled, only to die seconds later than those brave, foolish, or unfortunate enough to engage the man.

Orochimaru watched on from the monitors located inside the diminishing safety of his panic room. Whoever it was has yet to anything distinctive enough beyond the occasional fire jutsu to determine the man's identity. Damn cloaks...

The only thing he had to go on was this person was easily a Kage's level in strength, and was more than capable of handling himself against the Sound-Four combined, with only Kidomaru and Tayuya using their seals... and Kimimaro's head was just used to knock down a door. All Orochimaru had left to defend is now weakened body was his demoralized army of shinobi.

What was left of an army anyway considering the failed invasion.

He could almost precisely count how long it took for this cloaked man to slay the last Sound shinobi in the room; it was under three minutes with the use of kunai, fire jutsu, and taijutsu. The man hovered over the corpse of his latest victim before turning and craning his head towards the camera.

Orochimaru snarled as he spat out the name of his assailant. "_Tobi!_"

The arrogant bastard _waved_ at the camera before destroying it. The Snake Sannin snarled even louder before becoming silent as something clicked in his mind. This man wasn't wearing Akatsuki's cloak. That and this cloak had a hood to conceal his hair. The only resemblance to Tobi was the fact this man was wearing a orange spiral mask just like the loon. Only a handful of possibilities presented themselves to the Sannin: Tobi defected from Akatsuki and is trying to re-earn their favor with Orochimaru's death alongside the retrieval of their lost ring. The Akatsuki weren't even aware Tobi was here. Or...

The hidden door to the panic room was ripped apart and a cold but familiar voice haunted his ears. "Hello Orochimaru." It wasn't Tobi at all.

Slowly the Snake Sannin turned his chair to face his already advancing attacker. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" He asked the masked man. Footsteps were his only response. The Sannin's jaw twitch but froze when the voice brushed his ears. "Sorry, but I think you're just going to get in the way of things."

The squelch of flesh and bone being torn asunder by a kunai was the last thing he heard. The warmth of his lifeblood from his new body flowing down his chest was the last thing he felt.

The man he spotted merely walked past him to a desk and started to rifle through its contents without care. A exact copy of the man emerged from behind Orochimaru's chair to search another desk, only to stop when the first one muttured "Found it."

The masked man didn't turn around to catch a small object sent flying at him followed by the dispersal of his clone. He turned to the dull lighting the monitors offered and held up the object in the clutch of his thumb and index finger. It was a ring with the kanji for "Void" on it.

"It's time I took matters in my own hands," he muttered to himself as he departed to 'visit' another person he became familiar with over the years...

XVX

Bell Weaponry

"Hey Naruto?" He looked over at Tenten. "What can you tell me about your mother if you will?"

**A/N: Admittedly I was toying the idea of Temari actually being in the little ninja war over Naruto but to be honest I didn't really have it in me. Would I toy with the idea again? Maybe.**

**Just to warn everyone, the next chapter of Assassin is going to come in late by maybe over a week or two. Long story short, I have mid-terms to deal with. That and Mists of Pandaria is coming out next week which will most likely captivate my attention for both gamer reasons and story reason, in other words my time and energy (outside of tests) would be spent on another story I'm writing known as Path of a Monk for a few chapters.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I own not a right to either Warhammer or Naruto, this story is meant for entertainment purposes, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain. **

Assassin

Chapter 20: A phase of the moon

_(Flashback!)_

Konoha, nine-thirty-two p.m., nine years ago

Night, it had multiple meanings to everyone who have their ears and eyes open to the world: A near perfect opportunity to sneak in and out of anywhere to steal or kill. The time when the nocturnal roam and reign. To gaze at the stars and learn more of their universe, or reaffirm convictions. To the weary like Burūmūn, it meant the end of another day and it was time to rest...

Rest, a word that her own consciousness taunted her with as it craved it. Yes, she would like to sleep, but every time she sleeps... she always felt tired every time she awoke to the new day, not that there was much to wake up to now a days; the closest relatives by blood she had were the Uchiha that keep their distance from her, the remnants of her team were more like strangers to her and vice versa, and admittedly she hadn't made much of an attempt to connect let alone socialize with anyone.

So with nothing to do, and to avoid sleeping a dreamless sleep as long as possible once again, she had set out into the dark world only brightened by the occasional lamppost and the diehard store owners who would sooner jump off a cliff than give up the opportunity to rake in an extra coin dressed in a simple yukata and sandals of earthly tones.

The crash of a trashcan and the muttering of a infantile curse ensnares her attention to an alleyway, one revealing an overturned trashcan and a child covered in grime from head to foot steadying himself to an upright position with his back turned to her. An orphan perhaps? Would explain why he looked unkempt, and the fact he was apparently diving into the trash since the orphanage has been garnering a reputation lately for substandard care thanks to the influx from the attack five years ago; a second orphanage was even rumored to be built to lessen the stress and improve the quality if the adoption rate doesn't improve.

At any rate, estranged or not with people, she couldn't in good faith permit a youth to risk his life to such unsanitary conditions if she could help it. Covering her mouth with a loosely balled fist, she coughed politely to capture her attention. The desired effect, albeit different than what she expected, was immediate as the child wiped around with wide blue eyes and muscles tensed to flee on a moment's notice when he learned of the kunoichi's presence.

She armed herself with a gentle smile in hopes of lessening the tension she inadvertently created, yet there was no sign of the act succeeding on the boy's part. Ever so slowly she gotten onto her knee, loosening her yukata just enough so not to ruin it in the act let alone perform it, and outstretched her hand with the same smile. The boy only stared at her wearily, causing her to resist a frown threatening to creep upon her lips as she drew theories behind his hesitation. The one conclusion she could relate to that people tend to avoid, if lucky, something they find unpleasant...

Her gentle smile became more sincere as she spoke up softly, "I have no intention of causing you trouble young man. Please, allow me to offer you a place to stay for the night at least." The boy's hands twitched as he kept eyeing her warily. Her smile grew much warmer as he finally took step after step towards her, even though each move betrayed the instinctual call to flee. A tentative hand reached out and barely poked her fingers with his own before drawing them back in fright for a reaction that failed to meet his expectations; ever so slowly he reached out once more and loosely griped her larger hand with his own and tensed as it gently closed around his own.

As time taking as she kneeled, she gotten back up on her own two feet and managed to tighten her yukata to as close as her preference with her unoccupied hand. "I am Burūmūn Uchiha, what is your name young man?" she asked as they left the alley.

"N-naruto Uzumaki." Her eyes widened... she certainly didn't factor in that possibility.

XVX

Burūmūn's home

"When was the last time I had a bath?" Naruto asked himself as he all but lounged in the bath the Uchiha had drawn. "It wouldn't do to sleep in filth if you can avoid it," that was her argument and condition before he was given to use her bed.

Her home was almost entirely one windowless room save for the bathroom and what might be the bedroom, and it was somewhat sparsely decorated as he noticed. There were a few knickknacks, yes, but beyond that there were few chairs, one table fit for meals for a small number of people, a kitchen with the essentials plus a few extras, and a photo on the small out of the way table featuring what may have been her near his age and three other people; there was little she had to suggest she ever expected company at any given time... it even looked like she lived alone.

Beyond the bathroom door, the unique Uchiha was writing in a journal marred with a bit of dust on its cover and spine regardless of being seen or not.

"'Tis a sad night to meet another who is forced to live in seclusion. He does not speak of it, and I have not asked, yet I need not be a genius like the other members of my clan to reasonably deduce the life he had lead at this point. The life of an orphan in Konoha now is not one any wish to experience when they are without even relatively distant relatives to support them, even if it is only for a time."

She tapped the butt of her ink brush against the table in thought before she continued. "One with a sense of decency would think he would be given proper care instead of having to scrounge in garbage for supplies and nourishment, even if the only issue was with the ones who are charged with looking after such youths, any for that matter. State or quality of their services be damned." Her brush rapped the table once more till the creak of the bathroom door drew her attention. There was Naruto, much more recognizable without the dirt and grime that accumulated on him; the only thing she found offensive on the boy was the ragged clothes he had to wear, unfortunately at the moment the most she could do was give said clothing a beating to give it some semblance of cleanliness since she lacked any clothing to befit his stature and the only late night laundry mats she was aware of were at the other side of town and she wasn't going to subject the boy to a period of partially senseless nudity.

Adopting a weary smile she asked him, "Feeling refreshed?" He nodded in response. Placing the brush in a nearby inkstone, she got up and soon ushered the young blond through another door which lead to her bedroom. Drawing the sheets and blanket back, she had the boy lie down and be covered him. "Good night Naruto," with that she turned to leave after tucking him in.

"Um..." She stopped halfway through the bedroom to give the child her attention. Naruto fidgeted under the blanket as he struggled on what to say.

"Where are you going to sleep?" he finally asked. He tilted his head in confusion when she chuckled softly. "Don't worry about me," she replied, "I am not old or decrepit that a night away from a bed would do me harm." She turned back around and ventured to the door once more.

Just as she was about to close the door, she couldn't help but smile as she heard Naruto utter good night to her.

XVX

Eight years ago

The table was once again assaulted by the butt of a ink brush. If one looked closer, they would've made out the faint outline of the blunted edge pecking the table in various spots.

"The house seems brighter than usual..." she wrote. "Actually, it seems like everything is a bit brighter-"

"Burūmūn!" She smirked despite being interrupted. Ah well, what was a startled stroke to a entire blank page?

A familiar head of blond rushed through her open door eagerly like the countless times before. Said head of hair would probably be the only company that eagerly sought her out even for the littlest of news worth telling/bragging about, but it was welcomed company. She set the brush down and turned to the ever eager boy that threatened to put a hole in the wooden floor as he hopped up and down in place while waiting for her response.

"What has you in fine spirits this time?" she asked pleasantly, though amusement was evident in her tone. In direct response to her question, he pulled out a small stack of coupons from one of his pants pockets, it would probably amount to the height of a paper tower if she was judging from the wad and how tight he was holding it right. "Free ramen!" he cried out in all the vigor suited for his age.

Chuckling lightly, Burūmūn reached out and rubbed his head with her fingers combing through his hair; a habit she picked up on as it soothed her to feel the somewhat questionable smoothness of his hair even when he had not bathed in days, and it had a calming effect of him which could be considered a useful perk when she lulled him to sleep. "And you want me to join in on you is that-"

She all but froze when she felt a smidgeon of a familiar substance that lurked beneath his locks. Naruto stiffened when he realized what had shocked her and compelled her to bring her hand back with the palm facing towards her. A thumb rubbed against her fingers in a vain hope that her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Naruto..."

"I didn't start I fight, I swear!" he exclaimed, afraid of being scolded by her.

He tensed slightly as she released a sigh and got up from her chair, he relaxed when she only went into the kitchen of her house and turned the facet of the sink. Pulling a drawer open, she fished out a rag while giving the blond an expecting glance. Silently Naruto trudged to her side as she dampened the cloth in water.

Kneeling down, she parted his hair in search any wound of note; the one she suspected her fingers found by accident was finishing the last touches of its repair, she dapped the damp cloth on it anyway even if the most it would do is clear away the clotted blood. "It's not that I don't believe you," she spoke softly as she cleaned the regenerating flesh, "but you know that I don't want you to get into trouble when you can avoid it."

Putting the cloth away, her soft smile returned. "Now, let's go."

XVX

Seven years ago

Anymore and surely the floor would sport a groove from the wear. It was past a month's time by a day since she had last seen or heard of Naruto; every Chunin and above had been put on alert of his abduction and the perpetrator has yet to be identified...

It was tearing her apart. She had more than once passed on a mission in favor of staying in Konoha to either wait and pray that he would return safe and sound at her doorstep, or find him in her many escapades to find her son...

She stopped dead in her tracks.

When had she started to think of him as such? They weren't related by blood. She gave him care when few others couldn't, as a human being she thought people deserve some kindness. She was simply overreacting to the stress brought on by having someone she knew disappearing, right?

She clenched her hand as she hung her head.

"No..."

She had more than once spent idle thoughts to create a fantasy world with a family with him being her son, blood wasn't really an issue in adoption after all unless one cared for their image. She was already an outcast as far as her clan was concerned.

She always welcomed him into her home, it may have been out of good will at first but how many caretakers would constantly check on the health of their ward when it was simple scratches they received?

The only thing that really kept them apart, excluding the kidnapping, was Naruto's own insistence to not live with her so none of his problems becomes her own. Being hated, shunned, or even given odd looks was nothing new to her.

She looked to the clock on the wall, something that would've worn the clock out by now if it could be affected in such a manner, before pulling her vambrace to ensure it was on tight. Another piece of evidence to confront _any_ claim or defense to avert her view of Naruto: a caretaker would wait, a mother would put on their kunoichi gear and go to war if it comes to it if they weren't restrained.

Her attire consisted of a dark night blue short sleeved shirt, and kunoichi grade pants of the same color. On her feet were closed toe shinobi style boots with a small section of bandages encasing her ankle and reaching to a stopping point halfway to her calves. On her forearms were forearm length gloves without fingers in a darker shade, almost black even, of the already dark blue. Protecting her were vambraces lashed onto her forearms that lacked the brilliant luster due to age, shin guards that were nicked from slightly battered from years of use that held the same quality as the vambraces. Last was her Jonin vest of a sage green coloring, it was altered from its more commercial design to carry scrolls along the small of her back. Her headband was held up in the typical manner of most of her profession with the cloth being sage like her vest.

She made to the table where a roll of bandages and a kunai case awaited her when someone knocked on her door. She halted, not many would knock on her door; the only ones to date who ever knocked on it were Anbu sent to collect her in the event of a emergency and Naruto, though that was only for a few months till the two become comfortable with each other. The sound was always alien to her no matter the reason in her own home.

The door was knocked on once again. Slowly but surely, she changed her course to the door. Grasping the handle, she opened the door with a pent up breath. The second she failed to see someone of her height, her sight darted to a more diminutive figure... a child... wearing a brown bandana with small tufts of blond hair trying to escape from its edges, had blue eyes that were slightly worn quality to them, and whisker marks on his cheeks. She needed no more details to ascertain the identity of who was at her doorstep bathed in the evening sun.

Without a second to waste, she dropped onto her knees and embraced Naruto in the fiercest hug yet between the two of them. Naruto tensed up slightly, she noted, before relaxing into the hug and returning it though not as quickly or as passionately as her own; Naruto's version was more like someone coming back from a long day at their job. Curious, but understandable given the circumstances.

Before she could haul him away into the safety of her home, she froze when she spotted something all but lurking within the shadow of a nearby tree. More out of instinct, her bloodline swirled to life in hope of identifying the cloaked motionless figure. The figure did nothing to acknowledge the mounting tension from the woman, even when her grip on Naruto tightened a little as her foot slide forward to either stand up or quickly escape into the confines of the house. A small hand gently clapping her shoulder disturbed her out of her reverie, her eyes met the more worn eyes of the youth that sparkled with curiosity before returning to their earlier state while giving her a complacent smile.

XVX

It was, to put bluntly, awkward. Awkward yet refreshing for Naruto. Burūmūn always looked out for him where she can and could, but now it was as if... it was if he suddenly gained a mother as she fretted over him, admitting her worry, and her relief to have him back. She even spouted question after question from "Are you alright? Have you been eating well?" to "Who kidnapped you?! Have you been hurt?!"

She was even paranoid enough to keep positioning herself between him and the door in the event it was broken down.

As of the moment, they were sitting at the table with the kunoichi's chair turned to enable a quick turn to the door.

"Burūmūn...?"

Affording a glance to the door, she turned to him. "Yes Naruto?"

He hung his head slightly as his fingers twiddled with each other. He took a deep breath as he hesitantly spoke out, "Are there..." He suddenly stopped, his face becoming drawn in worry and uncertainty. She wanted to ask the youth "what" but held her tongue, opting to let him ask on his own accord.

He took another breath to calm himself. "Are there..." he started and stopped again as he hit the same block.

A frown marred Burūmūn's lips as she grew uncertain on what to do, but waited patiently nonetheless.

"Chunin and stronger shinobi... get to know things, right?" he hesitantly asked. The kunoichi nodded in affirmative though unsure of the reason.

Naruto's fingers started to pressed against their opposing counterparts harder. His gaze tilted a little further as he spoke up once more. "Did... the giant fox really die?"

Her blood ran cold in bone chilling fear. Her thoughts raced, each one trying to find a different reason to the origin of that question, and a good number of them kept returning to that man outside her door.

Naruto's abductor; could he be a shinobi of Konoha who could no longer abide the code of silence? He was powerful, dangerous even, according to Naruto yet not beyond reasoning if Naruto talked him into letting him come here. Her core temperature dropped as a chilling though went through her mind. "Perhaps he aims to break Naruto," she thought. For what purpose, she didn't know... _but_ she will be damned if she didn't make some kind of stand against this monster.

Her thoughts were converted into finding an answer for Naruto, any answer that could keep his innocence. To keep him... him. An idea struck her.

She held up a finger to Naruto to ask for a moment before leaving her chair. With haste she searched an outlying chest tucked against the wall, a search rewarded by the retrieval of her ink brush, an inkstone and its ink, and a small stack of paper. Said items were placed on the table within Naruto's reach, and filled the stone with the ink. He looked at it quizzically before turning his questioning eyes toward Burūmūn's warmer and encouraging ones. "Sometimes it's easier to speak through paper than in words..." she offered.

Naruto stared blankly at the blank sheets before reaching for the brush and dabbed it into the stone. He took to the paper and scribbled into it with ease... and apprehension. Afraid that Naruto would lose what nerve he garnered, Burūmūn had to resist the urge to frown in worry.

In a matter of minutes he wrote down what he wanted to say and pushed the document to the Uchiha. Her hopes were dashed as she read the ink battered page, numerous questions were crossed out and made unreadable save for the last one.

"Did the Fourth Hokage seal the Nine-tailed Fox into me?"

Her hand twitched, and her body sagged under the weight of fears made manifest. Her sight shifted back to Naruto who she realized was most likely worse off, he had yet to look away from the table.

"Yes..." she solemnly answered. Another page was taken to by the ink brush, though the paper didn't leave the table.

"Why wasn't I told?"

She lowered her breath and sighed quietly to herself. Her mind flickered towards the cloaked figure once more, but yielded to more immediate concerns. "The Third Hokage forbade anyone to speak about it in an effort to give you a semblance of a normal life..."

A new question was added. "Is that why you didn't tell me?"

He was startled from his attention on the paper when a hand gently grasped his shoulder, and his eyes locked onto Burūmūn's own warm but sadden ones. "Let me ask you a question," she spoke softly. "Are you happier now that you know, or when you didn't know?" Naruto tried to answer, yet nothing came out and subsequently he lowered his gaze; it shot back up again when Burūmūn pulled him into a tender hug. "I wished for you to enjoy what happiness you could get before you ever knew. I wanted that cheerful smile that you give to never be varnished by an ugly fact we can't change... I didn't want you to be brought down and never able to get up again..."

Her grip on him tightened. "Because-"

_(End Flashback!)_

Bell Weaponry, present

"The world's a colder, and scarier place when someone you love is gone."

Tenten smiled solemnly as she leaned back against the counter. "It is isn't it?" she mused.

Naruto hummed in agreement.

XVX

Across the street, Konoha rooftops

"I'm willing to bet a killjoy would say something like "Obviously you never been in a desert" or something akin to it," Kira commented as she watched the couple.

Roderick didn't reply as he looked on more out of boredom than anything else. In a sense it was a lie as his mind wandered towards his own experiences with the unusual Uchiha...

_(Flashback)_

Konoha forest, seven years ago

Even with the Sharingan active, all it did was swirl around angrily as she scowled at the ex-Vindicare. To him, one would have to be an idiot _not_ to think they would get away scot-free from a 'kunoichi.' Of course to be fair she got closer than he originally expected so points to her, but he wasn't fool enough not to have some kind of back up or arrogant enough to believe he wouldn't have to move.

Though he didn't think it would actually come down to the classic rope trap that he had set up to ensnared her should he have to abandon his spot under the tree; he wasn't fond of being seen in the open if he could help it.

Now they were staring each other down, with one standing upright while the other hung helplessly from the tree while most likely plotting to rip the former's arms off and proceed to give said former a rather gruesome death; the dull flash of a pistol's handle was enough to keep more rash moves from being carried out. Didn't stop the glare though.

They just continued to stare, or glare in Burūmūn's case, at one another in the dying light.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" she asked tersely.

"Would you care to elaborate?" he rasped back.

Her lids narrowed as did the glare. "You do not strike me the type to kidnap a child and ruin their lives for fun."

"What exactly affirms your claim then?" he asked.

Burūmūn jerked her thumb back behind her. Behind her were the dark holes of pitfall traps with only remnants of their leafy coverings, nets sprawled out on the ground, and even charred grass as evidence to explosives that were in play. Wire trap stun grenades to be exact. "You obviously had taken the time to prepare an array of traps, each one nonlethal at least in intent not to mention you haven't gloated nor actually tried to kill me. The final piece of evidence is your own stance..."

Though she couldn't see under the hood, she could almost feel him raising a brow.

"You're too professional, and you could've killed me by now if you desired."

He gave no reply to her as he continued to stare her down.

"I ask again, would you care to explain yourself?" To the kunoichi's surprise, the cloak ruffled as he reached for something. A folder was flung at her, and was caught by her despite her predicament. She gave him a scornful glance before turning her attention on the folder and its contents... after flipping it over first to actually read it.

The read... was unfavorable.

"Use any available fodder to provoke container." Her grip tightened.

"Damages resulting less than a quarter of the village are inconsequential, applies to property damage, and civilian/shinobi casualty."

"Impede aid where possible."

Deliberate planning... the idea of a village of scornful fools was becoming more appealing by the letter.

"All the facts I have regarding this are in that folder, though it is limited at best." She jerked her head up from the folder as her reverie was disturbed. She utterly glared at the ex-Vindicare with vengeance anew till she let loose a calming breath and closed her eyes.

"Did you show Naruto this?" she asked, though the venom was barely restrained.

"I gave him a simplified version," he admitted.

Closing the folder, a free hand clenched as she asked in the same tone once again yet the venom became more evident, "So what is your plan regarding Naruto then? Are you going to mold him into a weapon for your own use? Have you sent him to me in hopes that I would break his spirit and you would pick up the spirit?!"

She had to resist perking an eyebrow when she saw the man shake his head, almost as if he was disappointed with her.

"I brought him here becuase he has a connection with you that ins't shared with others. To put it bluntly, I am going to train him," he said. "Yet I can only go so far in certain subjects..."

"Such as..." Burūmūn's eyes gaped as the pistol proper was revealed from the confines of the cloak.

_POW!_

Time stood still for her as the shot rang out with air cracking ferocity. Her heart hammered in her bosom and he arms were crossed in her defense. All she could do was wait and see what the cast die would tell.

It told that she would fall from a snapped rope.

Curling into a ball, she landed uncomfortably on the ground below and rolled away to a crouch, Sharingan actively searching for Roderick. All that told of his presence was a combat knife planted in the ground with a note attached. Keeping aware of her surroundings, she cautiously crept to the knife. Her enhanced eyes spotted no telltale sign of a trap; the note was sequentially claimed.

"Out of the two of us, you're more likely to keep him human by the end of it all."

Minutes turned to hours, the sun had set, and a patch of earth flew open much like a trapdoor when no one was around to witness it.

"Even amateurs have their uses," the assassin grumbled to himself.

_(End Flashback)_

"Roderick!"

Ever and deliberately so slowly, he turned to the pouting Kira Blanc. "Yes?"

"Please give me a hug! Perhaps the contact with another could make my life oh so bearable without my loved ones now!" she whined.

The ex-Vindicare blinked as he stared at her curiously before he noticed one of her arms was drawn back to hide something behind her.

His eyes became annoyed slits behind his visor. "I am not the touchy-feely type nor is Naruto's wild claim correct, so please put those marshmallows you're hiding were brought in vain."

"Killjoy."

XVX

Unknown cave

One by one, several holographic individuals came to life save for two in the flesh and blood; all of whom, sans the two in person, whom share the same quality of a grayed coloring of their organization's cloud and the more silver lining of their shapes thanks to the jutsu at work . Counting themselves, the duo counted eight total in their gathering.

"Heh, been awhile since we had a meeting with everyone..." A ninth figure appeared. "Hey Burūmūn, I think Kakazu got a new partner again."

The Uchiha woman raised a brow at this and glanced at the nondescript figure, though the holograph did little to hint his features she did spot a lone eye peeking out from what may have been a mask. Frowning, her attention turned to a new speaker.

"He's not."

Judging by height alone, Burūmūn deducted it was Kakazu himself. He was the second tallest of the organization after all compared to Kisame's own height.

Kisame blinked. "Can someone please explain what's going on then?"

Someone cleared his throat, drawing the attention of every present in the gathering to a man with who's image only betrayed spiky hair and ringed eyes of light purple. "I do apologize for interrupting your current assignments, but I have felt that certain events that have taken place must be told to you to avoid any un-pleasantries or misunderstandings."

"Oh, what could be so important mmm?" another one eyed figure asked, Deidara from the looks and sound of it.

"It's quite simple: Orochimaru is dead."

"Oh ho! Looks like you don't have to sleep with a kunai under your pillow any more Burūmūn!" Kisame exlaimed, all but slamming a hand onto his partner's back with enpough force to tilt her forward with an "oof!"

"Are we right to assume that this newcomer is the one who did him in?" a hunched over member asked, Sasori of the Red Sand due to his proximity to Deidara.

"Indeed you are right to assume that," the ringed leader spoke before turning his attention to the masked one coolly. "Allow me to introduce Tobi. With our missing ring now returned, all is left is to find a more suitable partner for Kakazu and we shall be at full strength once again."

"Hello!" Tobi greeted, his arm frantically waving in the air like a eager child.

"Is there anything else you wish to mention?" Kakazu rumbled, his mind already ticking away the minutes spent in this meeting to calculate the probabilities of bounties on the move going one place to another.

"No, that is all. Please return to your assignments with all haste." One by one the images disappeared at their own accord, leaving the Moster of the Hidden Mist and the unique Uchiha to themselves. "Something was off with him," Burūmūn commented.

"Yeah... it seemed more like he was hiding something," Kisame agreed.

XVX

Meanwhile, another cave

"I thought you were going to stick to the shadows as you claimed you would," the ringed image said to the cloaked figure in their uniform with the hood up.

"I was," Tobi replied sternly. His very tone went from mirthful youth mimic to a stern deep throated man.

"And what changed?"

The figure's lone eye narrowed. "Certain factors that shouldn't have happened have occured. If we are to have any chance in succeeding with minimum interruption then I have to take a more active role."

The ringed man did nothing to suggest he acknowledge this as her stared at him. "Very well," he finally said. His projected form wavered out of existence. Tobi sighed and rubbed his throat as he turned away.

"Damn, I'd either have to limit my conversations or make a seal to mimic that guy," he grumbled in a octave higher than before though still deep. He stopped by a boulder jutting out from the ground. "Still..." he clapped a hand on the shoulder of a man slumped against the boulder. "Thanks for the help!" he said sarcastically as he pushed his hand away. He payed little head as the man slumped forward, a mask on his face dropping to his lap.

"Never underestimate a Seal Master," the masked man said darkly.

XVX

Meanwhile, Hokage Tower

Tsunade groaned as she rolled her shoulder. She didn't suspect being with Kushina would be as tiring as it had been though she couldn't fault her; Shizune probably felt like this when she was dealing with her during all those years on the run.

A clone left behind in the office looked up before reaching into a already drawn drawer and placing a bottle of sake on the desk before continuing to do its previous engagement of reading.

"Thank you," the original mumbled as she walked over and drank from the source. A casual eye cast on the desk took interest in the upside down, to her, document her clone was reading. Earning enough of her curiosity, she strolled to the other side of the desk and peered over her clone's shoulder.

"Somehow I'm not surprised," she said to herself.

**A/N: I apologize for the delay. Aside from the exams, was working on another story. Then I got sick, had to eat soup while I still knew what a spoon was for, and I sort of dragged my feet.**

**Please be warned that more delays are the future but I will not abandon this story, that is my guarantee.**

**To hopefully tide everyone over till the next post, here are some fun tidbits:**

**When I originally added Kushina to the story, her husband was with her when she came back. One thing leads to another, and the duo face off against Roderick in a vengeful battle over Naruto's abduction and change in personality.**

**As to why I didn't, out of the two Kushina had a significantly more reasonable chance of being in any story if one altered Naruto's sealing event instead of Minato since the sealing's price was the consumption of the user's soul. In other words I would be god modding (altering the universe without consequence) a bit and I think I already danced on that line regarding the introduction of guns in the Naruto Universe. If this argument is brought against me about Roderick and Kira, my defense is that the Dark Age of Technology of Warhammer is filled with a lot of mystery, a least to the universe's inhabitants. Someone was bound to attempt a universe leaping portal in either the Dark Age of Imperium age (though most likely in secret), not to mention that demons of great strength could possibly do this out of boredom or a mishap.**

**As for how Kira got to the same universe as Roderick, you're going to have to wait.**

**Until next time, I leave with a familiar saying.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 21: Mission: Land of Mists, part 1

Land of Mists, three months later, eighty-twelve p.m.

One Jonin. Three Chunin. One A-rank mission.

As far as mission personal was concerned,Zabuza Momochi wasn't entirely thrilled about the matter.

Hana Inuzuka had already proven herself to be at least Tokubetsu Jonin if pushed to the limits when it came to her skills and fighting ability. That was about the epitome of what he could say about her at any given moment.

Naruto Uzumaki was without a doubt skilled. Actually Zabuza kind of wished that he had the boy in Kiri back in the day, then perhaps it would be him who's wearing the Mizukage hat by now! Three months of making Chunin and he was racking up B-ranks like no one's business, thirty-four so far and a third of which was a solo mission. That had to be a record somewhere. The only thing that changed about him since his promotion was that he sported a hard plastic face mask bearing the color of the inner gray his suit, one meant to allow for underwater breathing and acts as a gas mask if he knew him well enough as well as judging the slits and the almost hidden canisters built into the mask's sides.

Shikamaru Nara was almost without a doubt the only reason Zabuza was annoyed. He was virtually the polar opposite of the sniper. In the three months after receiving the same promotion as Naruto as well as donning the iconic vest, he only did _one_ B-rank mission. The only redeeming quality about him was the fact that he was a virtual genius and specialized in tactics.

"Lazy bastard."

This sentiment was shared between the Jonin and the Inuzuka. In Zabuza's book, laziness was a earned trait given Kakashi Hatake's own record as a example.

Still, they had a fairly solid team with him, a Jonin, in command who knew the layout of the land and the people, more or less, they were dealing with. They had a tracker/medic expert, however minor it is to humans, Hana. A infiltration/assassination expert, Naruto Uzumaki. Last but not least, unless his more lethargic and aloof attitude was taken seriously, a master tactician in Shikamaru; though frankly he did leave others wanting if they looked at his shinobi record.

With that in mind, the only obstacle they had to contend with was the unknown that came with every mission.

Even if the mission in question was on the tumultuous side.

The preface was simple enough: meet with Dakuan, an agent of the Mist Government, to ascertain the severity and assist in the most current operation pertaining to the mounting civil war that was soon to break between the current government and an enigmatic being known as The Shogun. However that's where things fell apart so to speak.

Here they were now in groups of two, technically a group of two and four if the dogs were counted, to find the shinobi out in the field...

Naruto and Hana, alongside her dogs, were searching the wilds and small villages to locate the agent while he, Zabuza, was left with Shikamaru to search the roads and any towns they come across. Changing governments be damned, a Hidden Village would be greatly appreciated for tracking their own shinobi.

XVX

"To know the past is to know the future."

Frankly Naruto would've liked a more specific helpful piece of advice regarding battles both future and current. Couldn't the old bastard just say something less cryptic?

In any event it did have its point, though he did have to spend about a week trying to understand its meaning. There was the introspective view of knowing where he went wrong or what he could've done better, and then there was the more tactical view... which more often than not gave him a headache if he didn't take his time with it; ranging from history to allies/enemies habits, everything was useful.

The Land of Mists is a island nation southeast of the Land of Fire, and south of the Land of Water. It was a slightly curious nation to outsiders considering its proximity to the Land of Water, even matching the nation's general concept of having only islands as its namesake. The Land of Mists was an exception to this rule, and has had a long history of being a isolationist nation to which only traders entered their ports.

To inadvertently ward off potential warlords and Daimyo alike, as strange as it seems, they developed a long and bloodied history of infighting and civil wars that occurred within decades of each other. To support the people, to command and conquer, every reason and excuse known has at one time been used to shed blood within the confines of the island.

As a result, few dared to even think about trying to control it when one government after another came and gone by their own hands. The current government, the Tokugawa, was going to be another tally in destroyed governments despite its _relative_ success if history had a say in the matter should success or failure occur.

In any event, when Mist ever _did_ want outsiders in their land, it was Mist shinobi of Kiri that typically entered due to their own proximity to the nation; the latter island was still licking its wounds from their own civil war however. Hence Zabuza's presence and leadership of the mission.

Due to Kushina's efforts however, The Tokugawa had a new village to hire.

With that aside however, there were observations made: namely that the Land of Mists was as close to primitive as one could get; a trip into the Land of Mists was a trip through the past of the Elemental Nations.

There was a substantial lack of technology greater than a hammer and anvil. The inhabitants clung onto religion and superstition and heavily relied upon samurai for protection. Shinobi, if any, relied more on physical technique and deception than special abilities and training, and were only loyal to whichever lord reigned over the province they lived in.

Which brings him to their government structure. Ultimately there was no one leader, there were multiple Daimyos with growing or waning power through internal conflicts both political and otherwise. There was not one system, there were several systems. As the provinces changed, so did everything. It was the mainland compacted to an island.

As one might suspect, what worked for someone in one province didn't work in another. They were on their own as the Daimyo bickered amongst themselves.

At least it divined why Zabuza had them take to the field effectively immediately, it was relatively more efficient than dealing with politics mission-wise. What words they did have only pointed them in the direction of a clan known as the Mochizuki. Zabuza however ordered a search of the surrounding scenery rather than going straight to the clan itself.

Though inconveniant, it did have its own rewards; such as observing the fighting capabilities of potential allies/enemies from afar.

Two days out in the field yielded no results towards finding the Tokugawa agent, but it did let Naruto and Hana chance upon a slaughter of shinobi under an unknown assailant from afar in the trees as a set of the local varient of shinobi engaged one another.

A unknown assailant had impeccable aim much to Hana's disgust. To think she actually managed to get Naruto to let her borrow his goggles to spy on them while her partner improvised his usual telescopic means with a sniper rifle.

"Can you get a bead on what that weapon is?" she asked quietly as she focused her attention on a flying silvery object tearing apart tree and local shinobi alike as it flew past.

"You're guess is as good as mine," he replied. The attacker snatched his weapon out of the air upon its return to him and ducked away behind a tree branch of the tree that was his apparent roost. The feeble hideout was beset by a relentless barrage of shuriken. It was enough to bring the canopy down.

With a flick of a switch, and a adjustment on Naruto's part, revealed the literal stone face of the local's attacker. He was a tall man for sure, if he could be called that apart from his appearance, and his skin bore the color of a dirt brown stone that doubled as so as made evident when shuriken bounced off him harmlessly. He wore a brown-green kimono top that was closed tightly around his chest, his arms were left bare unless the bandages on the lower half of his forearms were counted before they stopped at his wrists. His legs were garbed in the same colored pants to match the top. Within his clutch was a unique weapon, two large double edge blades were held together by single grip in-between the dealers of death.

He drew his arm back and unleashed it, proving to the Leaf shinobi that it was the weapon that flew about. "You got to be kidding me," Hana groaned in sickened awe as all but two shinobi were left as the improvised buzz saw ripped its way through the weakened force; a shinobi and a kunoichi were all that was left.

During the chaos created by the flying blade, the kunoichi attempted to ambush the stone shinobi from above. Her drawn kodachi failed to pierce flesh and consequentially she fell to the ground below when the blow literally bounced off the hardened skin.

She lands with a grunt, her teeth gritted in discomfort, and she soon gasped in fright when the goliath lnded right in front of her with his blade back in his grasp. The blade was plunged into the ground and the behemoth licked his lips in wicked anticipation. However his attention was diverted to the other shinobi, who charged at him in a ground based version of the kunoichi's assault. Like before, it had failed. Unlike before, the larger 'man' grabbed the shinobi by the arms and started to pull the smaller shinobi's arms apart. What was said between the local shinobi was lost to the foreign ones, but the screams of pain and terror was well heard; the shinobi's arms were torn off the unfortunate man, and his companion fled in absolute horror by taking to the trees as the sadistic 'man' took to quenching his thirst with the victim's own blood pouring from the now useless limbs in his grip.

The kunoichi didn't get far however when the blade wielder finished with his 'drink.' Drawing back his blade back once more, he flung it at her, and to the amazement of the silent audience to the scene, the buzz saw knocked her out and away from the trees before it was retrieved once again alongside the unconscious kunoichi. Collecting his prize and his weapon, he fled the corpse ridden battlefield.

From away, Hana pulled off the goggles and handed them back to their owner while giving him a pointed look. The heated gaze was met with a more deadpanned one in a silent argument between the two. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed a annoyed, slightly exasperated sigh while Hana grinned in triumph.

XVX

Eleven minutes later

Shinobi hounds are a wonderful asset to any team out in the field or on guard duty. Made shinobi in general incredibly difficult to sneak up on and likewise escape from due to sound and scent based tracking. It was almost child's play in finding someone unique like the stone-skinned shinobi and his prisoner, the scent of latent amounts of blood on the former made it impossible to hide from a trained dog's nose as well.

That was the easy part however.

Now they were forced to look on from afar once again in the trees when they tracked the two to a run down home in the forest, for Hana and her hounds detected the scents of three other people in the vicinity. An old man dressed like a monk, a domed straw hat, and armed with a ringed staff bearing two more rings in it was hiding in a tree observing the same house, a black haired man with his hair held up and dressed in a pristine white haori with pointed shoulders and a gold collar was minding his own business in a patch of lilies beyond some trees, and lastly a third man whom they could only detect that was inside the house as well.

"So how do you want to do this?" Naruto asked, his voice low and slightly distorted by the mask, and his goggles brought to bear with his finger prompting it to zoom in and out at various locations.

"You're suggestions?" she half heartedly asked.

"Kill, kill, blow the door and use lethal force. Or the more time consuming knock K.O., K.O., peek, then use lethal force."

Hana sighed as she ran her own scenarios in her mind.

Thirty-four missions, and she was on his team for at least half of them if not three or so more and perhaps less. They had a fairly good idea of how the other operated. Though a bit on the chivalrous side of things, Hana was, for all intents and purposes, Naruto's superior by experience and seniority. At worse she dragged him into rescue missions more out of morality than reason in situations much like this; not that he had objection to this yet he'd prefer it to be done when traveling to or from a mission, the one upside to this time was that they had no real leads as to where to find their man to begin with.

A pained scream jolted Hana out of her thoughts, and Naruto's gaze switched over to the house. The third figure, a man in dark green clothes, escaped the confines of the house with the captured kunoichi in-tow. The double-sword flew out of the house after them.

The pair jumped over the blade, then ducked when it made its return sweep before bolting away again. The stone shinobi emerged from the house to catch his weapon while he ripped a needle-like object from his head and angrily tossing it away. He bounded away from the porch only to be stopped by the man in the haori, while enjoying the scent of a lily, when he called out to him.

"Can you hear anything?" Naruto murmured as he looked on.

"Not really, but it vaguely sounds like he is working for someone alongside the other guy."

He hummed as he switched to the old man. He was hunched over as he sat in his own tree, but even Naruto could tell he was small even for his age. He was tugging at the thin white line that made up his beard in thought about something.

"Well, this situation seems to have resolved itself." It was Hana's turn to hum in acknowledgement.

"Let's get going."

XVX

Nameless road, fifteen minutes later

"Troublesome."

Zabuza only grunted. No luck in contacting the Tokugawa agent on their half, so far it seemed that the other half of their team haven't found Dakuan either.

This is why he hated coming to the Land of Mists. No organization or common structure towards their shinobi that could be used to keep track of them. Like their provinces, the shinobi were different in each region and lord. Not by much but enough to have themselves waging war with each other in the shadows let alone spy on the other.

It was almost like finding a needle in a haystack here if a shinobi was hunting another here. Absolute hell if it was a Nation shinobi who specialized in sensing. It was almost funny to learn that people who don't use chakra couldn't be detected by sensor types, even funnier to watch a sensor who wasn't aware of that fact mash their teeth together while pulling at their hair too.

Zabuza closed his eyes as he sighed. For a brief moment he too wanted to say the exact same thing Shikamaru said.

Upon opening his eyes, he spotted a dark green clothed stranger meandering close to the wall built alongside the road. There was nothing much to him aside from the katana he had slung over his shoulder by a small tether along its scabbard and the straw hat on his head with the sliced gap in it.

The two parties passed each other with nothing more than a nod.

A few feet was gained between the passing parties before they both stopped to look down the road Zabuza and Shikamaru came from, a rider-less horse was in a full fledged gallop over the stone path. Both sides stepped aside to let it pass unabated and the man in green continued his trek. Zabuza, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes to a half lidded gaze. Something didn't-

A hand broke through the wall, grabbed the katana armed man by his face, and dragged his head to the hole it made. Not a second later, the man was propelled out of the wall and straight into a stone lamp post. The wall was rocked with something large, and soon cracked open as a large being curled into a ball rolled out with two swords sticking out of the sides while being clutched tightly in the middle.

The improvised wheel came to a stop in front of the downed man, and slowly the being stood up straight to reveal himself; a man with skin like jagged rocks dressed only in dark green pants and sandals, his weapon were two swords joined at the handle. The sword was plunged into the ground hard enough to act as its own stand and the giant rock-man grabbed the one he surprised but a moment before.

"Hey, I know the way now. So leave me alone," the fallen man started to say, only to be interrupted.

"Not quite the right direction," the larger countered. He slammed the smaller man into the pillar. "The path to hell," he said, "is right here!" He belts the smaller man in the gut with a curled up fist. He strikes him again a second. A third joins the number. Lastly a fourth blow was dealt to the man and the lantern behind the victim gives way to the assault.

The two Leaf shinobi kept their distance during the beating. The elder of the two looked on coolly while holding a hand back to prevent his subordinate from doing anything foolish. Due to the lack of anything to differentiate sides in a shinobi fight, or any fight for that matter that didn't involve outright armies, it was easy to kill someone a Nation shinobi wasn't suppose to. More than one Mist shinobi died from executions on these shores as a peace offering for accidently killing their own side before knowing about them, all to prevent a potential war over them being 'sabotaged.'

Yet another reason to call the Tokugawa idiots. Empires, governments, kingdoms, they all come and go yet they could at least make the effort to keep themselves from being a tangled mess such as making headbands like any other shinobi village.

The smaller man was tossed aside when the lantern turned to rubble, accidently dropping his sword along the way as well. He landed with a pain grunt and spat out a wad of blood as he fiddled with his jaw and the string keeping his hat to his head. "Makes us even now doesn't it? Let's just call it quits."

The rock-man pick up his double-sword with a small wicked grin. "Not untill you paid your debt," he rumbled.

The green clothed man groaned lightly. "That's not very smart. Don't you think that if we keep this up that one of us may die?" he questioned. The hat slide off, revealing wavy brown hair adorning his head.

"One of us? Yes," the rock-man eagerly replied.

"There's no reason to kill each other," the downed man spoke up again. He slowly drew his hand back, and the keen eyes of the Leaf shinobi picked up a small sliver of light reflected off of the surface of a thread-like object. The clattering of wood on cobbled stone soon followed the flash, garnering the attention of everyone save the green garbed man to the dropped sword that he dropped earlier. He yanked his arm back, and the sword came flying at him. Upon their reunion, he shouted at his attacker, "That's the only sensible answer, isn't it?!"

"Answer this!" The taller man drew his arm back and flung his double-sword. His opponent all but flew upward and drew his blade, unleashing a unprecedented slash of air that sparked against the stone being's skin. The clang of metal on metal rung out between them. The brown haired man jumped to the side with his back to the wall to spy on the source without being entirely unable to defend himself from both sides if need me.

"Tell me, was that an accident or did you throw that blade at us intentionally?" someone said, it was practically laced with the desire for the latter to have occurred.

The brown-haired man risked a glance to the speaker, it was the man from earlier. Since it seemed like he was content with letting him pass earlier, the shinobi didn't take note of the latter's features. He had black hair, a blue headband with some sort of metallic object peeking out from the side of his head, and his mouth was covered in what appeared to be bandages. His attire consisted of a muted green vest of unknown design with pockets stitched to each side, and what appeared to be a deep blue sleevless shirt barely seen under the vest. His hands were equipped with smog blue forearm length gloves without fingers and bearing vertical black stripes from the hands to the very end. He had on pants of dark blue on, and open toe sandals colored the same green as the vest.

Clutching tightly in his grip was a sizable zanbato with a semi-circle eating away at the blade's edge, though it was sharpened itself, and a large hole towards the blade's top, it resting on his shoulder.

Both looked eager for a fight despite the obvious different between organic and inorganic origin.

His companion, a boy in a brighter green vest of the same design, though the clothes were easily different. He was actually edging away from the older man.

The shinobi's gaze returned to his attacker when he grunted and smirked. "Should it matter?" Zabuza smirked back, even if his mouth was covered it sent chills to the rock-man.

"Bad move then."

With a single hand sign, the area was immediately blanketed in a thick fog that only grew denser. "As much as I hate this country and the shitty way they do things, there is one thing I absolutely love about the Land of Mists." His voice was everywhere. Nowhere. Somewhere.

"I can travel to the highest mountain farthest away from any known source of water and I would still be able to use my water jutsu's without preparation. Even the very stone here is so... _moist_."

Gritting his teeth, the stone man looked about with his lone eye. One way or another this man deprived him of his primary weapon. The mists only served to heighten his growing rage. "Are you a coward?! Come out and face me!"

Chuckling emerged from the vapors clouding everyone's view. "I have a question for you." The rules were different should the fight come to enlisted shinobi.

Before the stone skinned man could reply, a dark object swiped at his throat and disappeared into the mists. "Larynx." A small trickle alerted him to what happened. He reach up and winced as he discovered a nick on his skin. A nick trickling with blood.

Something attack his back and her turned to face nothing. "Spine," his attacker murmured once more. A hand confirmed his suspicion. Whatever the zanbato user was doing was drawing _blood_.

The bare glint of steel alerted him much too late to stop the attack to his pectorals. "Lungs."

A fist lashed out this time from the mists. A fist that crushed his toughened hide at the side of his neck. "Jugular."

Another slash attacked his pectoral again. "Subclavian veins."

A quick succession of two more strikes were made known; the waist and chest once more. "Kidneys and heart." A dark chuckle resonated from the mist. "Which way would you like to die?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of you coward!"

The relative giant stiffened when his assailant laughed as darkly as before. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black."

"Do you know the first rule of killing is kid?" his attacker suddenly questioned. The rock-man was too hesitant to reply. "If you enter the world of killing, be prepared to die as well."

Without word or warning, the stone-man fell backwards without his own knowledge. The spurt of blood was enough to make him realize that he had been attacked again. Attacked, yet not in the manner he expected.

He clawed away on his stomach upon the sudden dawning of the fact his left leg was cleaved off. His bitten his own tongue to stave off a scream. "Out of the two of us kid, you're just a street thug that runs at the sight of a real threat."

The zanbato came out of the mist and impaled the fallen man. A stone hand slammed into the road as he screamed in anguish as he tried to crawl away. In his fear he failed to notice his stone hide crumbling away and his own organs screaming their own agony as a more miniscule assailant ravaged them. "You probably only derived your confidence in your skin, but as I said, you never faced a real threat before. It's all in your actions."

Footsteps dully echoed in a nonchalant stride came upon him. "You attacked from behind a wall to ensure you didn't give your opponent a chance to flee." The blade was jostled, causing his victim to scream in pain that was poorly reigned in. "You chose a weapon that you can throw, thus unsure that your can surprise your victims further as well as keep your distance should they do have a way to hurt you." The sword was freed from its impromptu sheath only to be plunged into the rock-man's back once again. Through the shoulder. Through the lung.

Zabuza leaned forward and criticized his 'opponent' on last time through hushed tones. "And you tried to run the second I proven you're not the badass you think you are. Even Genin know that fights with shinobi seldom end without someone dying."

The mists slowly dispersed and Zabuza freed his sword once more. He flicked his sword and walked away, effectively ignoring his groaning victim as he feebly made to get up. He even ignored the slash of air that threatened to cleave his arm off if it had touched, and he had not deigned to look back when something collapsed with a pained groan.

Flicking his blade once more to ensure he gotten rid of excess blood, he holstered his blade while giving the local shinobi a glance in recognition before passing him. The sound of hands clapping warranted the attention of everyone present to an diminutive and elderly monk standing atop one of the stone lanterns.

"Marvelous, absolutely marvelous. He was no match for either of your skills with a blade. How would either of you like to work for me for a hundred pieces... of... gold." His eyes narrowed on the boy's shirt, or rather the band wrapped tightly on his left arm. Nation shinobi.

"Sorry, but we're already on a mission." The taller Nation shinobi cinched his weapon onto a discreet holster on his back.

"Sorry but I'm not interested either," the other shinobi answered and sheathed his own weapon. The monk seemed ignorant of his reply as well as his departure as he stared at the foreign shinobi while they too started to departed.

"A question if I may," he called out. Both stopped and looked at him expectedly.

"Who are you looking for?"

XVX

"Dead Dog here." Naruto grunted from the swat from Hana while both her hounds growled in annoyance. Naruto's steel tipped fingers pressed against the earphone of his ear mounted radio. "Copy that, Lady Hound and Dead Dog en route." Another swat earned another grunt.

"I know you chose that just to annoy me," Hana growled.

"They found him, we're to meet up at a Buddhist temple." Hana narrowed her eyes. "Fine..."

Without a second's pause, both took to the trees, followed closely by the shinobi dogs.

"You could be more sensitive towards Ichigo and Kazu," Hana mildly growled out.

"Not happening." A sly grin formed without Hana's knowing as she growled in irritation. Anko wasn't the only one to torment people where she could after all.

XVX

Buddhist temple, seven minutes later

"Don't listen to him sweeties, he's just a mean grumpy little kid," Hana cooed as she scratched the back of her companions' heads. Both were typical of the Inuzuka clan's breed of dogs of grey fur with white legs and underbelly.

Unknowingly she was only adding points to Naruto's view of her being odd. Or over affectionate. Either way Naruto just had to wonder how much human contact she actually had despite being his senior by four years of age.

Then again this may be her way to get back at him. He'd have to actually talk to Kiba to know for certain. Or their mother Tsume if they ever crossed paths.

Naruto leaned back against the lamp post and sighed. A part of him wanted to contact Zabuza to make sure they were at the right spot but not enough time passed to warrant a call. Ultimately he'd have to wait... with his odd partner of twenty missions.

He looked over his shoulder at the surrounding darkened forest. He sighed and looked back at her as she tended to her dogs. So far nothing was worth noting since the local shinobi battle they observed. The overall climate was temperate, though slightly soggy. The locals seemed to have shunned the more modern advances in possibly the entire last century or so. And the red dot-

Naruto dove and smothered Hana in time for his steel back plate to guard against a bullet in a resounding clang of lead on metal. Both rolled out of the way and fled to the forest, negating the sniper's chief advantage of the moment.

Before they could attempt to make a plan, two figures leapt out of the trees above and engaged. Hana rolled out of the way to avoid two kunai seeking her demise. The shinobi wasn't able to press the attack however when two jets of snarling, ripping streams of wind that slammed into his chest, and pinning him into a tree. He bit his lip to keep himself from screaming as the two jets of wind continued to grind into him. Meanwhile Hanna finished the last hand seal and let loose a sharp whistle to her dogs.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

The man was set ablaze and burned away the vestiges of life despite his screams and flailing to extinguish the flames that now made up his body. Hana watched on for a moment before frowning and jumping away from her enemy. The darkness alone only permitted them to know where someone was but not enough to give the minute details that were now cloaked in the darkness of the forest. The fire jutsu was unfortunately too devastating to enlighten her to what village he belonged to or anything else. Yet one thing was for certain, it was no accident they ran into them, and one of them had a sniper rifle; they had technology.

Now to find Naruto.

XVX

The Chunin gritted his teeth as his knife met kunai. How his hand itched to whip out the pistol that clung to his leg, yet the sniper from before had somehow peppered his left arm during his own engagement; night vision modification given the fact his suit was meant to blend in with dark environments. Now he was separated from Hana, wounded and crippled till his wounds heal, and he couldn't use a jutsu between defending himself, attacking, as well as keeping close to his respective enemy to avoid being shot at again.

Only a handful of facts were gleaned thanks to the sparks from the more forceful clashes that granted life to sparks. She was from the main continent alright given the glint of the forehead protector and headband; just enough to confirm but not specify. She was a full grown woman with blond hair tied back.

_Crack_!

And she liked to kick him in the face. His mask cracked under the sudden assault and threatened to fall off in a moment's notice in spite of the straps holding it in place. A punch to the gut followed up with the kick.

Naruto backed up from the woman, though crouched slightly in hopes to avoid being shot at again. He flexed the hand of his more useless limb to see how far along it was in its regeneration while the two stared each other down; enough to at least use the hand, it was enough. Immediately three plans formed in his head: continue the 'duel' as it were and blindside her with the sudden draw of his pistol. Rip off his mask and use a water jutsu to force her to retreat so he could escape and try to regroup with Hana. Lastly he could run now to ditch the sniper for a time and blindside his more immediate pursuer with shadow clones or a surprise attack. Unfortunately each and every one of them had their own flaws. Most of which consisted the unseen sniper in them.

The sudden drop of a large object startled them away from each other to the entity. It had the appearance of a man for sure yet-

Another item fell from above, and went off in a short angry burst of gunfire to light up the scene. It was the sniper and his weapon...

The kunoichi stiffened in recognition of her comrade, Naruto stiffened as well though the reasoning was different. He couldn't dodge in time when a more subtle menace made itself known. A chunky spire of earth burst forth and slammed into his unprotected region beneath the chest plate.

The younger shinobi dully noted his own enemy fell prey to this technique yet he couldn't observe further as his world black out, only the forced reaction of spit and bile being vomited out by his own body was the last thing he remembered.

XVX

Hana arrived to the scene and tensed. There was a body laying in the small battleground. Her hounds spread out as she approached the fallen shinobi. A cautious hand search him, wary of the ploy of him playing opossum to get the drop on her; a pair of fingers on his neck lessened her fears but did nothing to alleviate her worries. A quick glance to another item confirmed her suspicion towards the identity of the man's identity, the sniper.

The body was still warm yet it appeared he suffered a broken neck. She reached over to the man's headband and pried it free. She scowled as the ran a thumb over the plate, her spare hand searching her pockets for a flashlight, a match, or even a rock to bang against another rock to give her a more descriptive view of the headband. Her thumb thoroughly rubbed an oval shaped outline in the cold metal.

She explored more of the engraving. Two more outlines, oval shaped... no. Elongated ovals. They weren't complete however as the two seemingly separate shapes diverged and joined together at a narrow point. Her brow creased as she racked her mind for villages with that description. She finally found salvation when her fingers dug out a lighter.

She hissed when she brought a flame to light and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the newly lightened atmosphere. That's when she found her answer.

Her grip tighten around the metal as she realized who attacked them.

"_Kumo_."

Her grip tightened further when her dogs whined...

**A/N: Yes! Naruto made Chunin!**

**When I originally wrote this chapter, it was Kakashi who was leading the group yet a handful of thoughts had struck me. One: Zabuza has yet to get much time on this story till now. Two: I chose the location to an island that really was close to Kiri according to a map I found of the Naruto-verse, hence giving Zabuza slightly more credible reasoning to be there over another Jonin given a altered theory of Murphy's Law (instead of something bad happening, its "bound to happen," I am not aware of there is an actual name, law, or theory that implies the exact opposite of Murphy's). Three: If you know which story I am depicting at the moment, who doesn't want someone like Zabuza to cause one or two deaths?**

**Fun fact (story-wise) to pass the time!:**** When I originally created Roderick, he was actually in his thirties when he crossed and a bit more cowardly than the one depicted in the actual story. As I hinted he's much older than that; the reason was because I think out of the two a much older and more experienced assassin would have adapted to the Naruto-verse better, especially with the prospect he both can't and couldn't return. Odd logic, undoubtedly, but combine it with years of wet work, subterfuge, and knowing appearances could be deceiving, I hold that a experienced ex-operative can handle himself better than a greenhorn in a situation like this.**

**With that said...**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention!**

**P.S. Bragging rights to the one who knows what's what in terms of the characters and storyline (minus the leaf ninja bits used in this chapter)!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

**No bragging rights to anyone apparently.**

Assassin

Chapter 22: Mission: Land of Mists, part 2

Underground hideout, Land of Mists

"This is a fine kettle of fish we have." A strange mix between a purr and a laugh rang out through the halls though unheard of to all but one. The world of shinobi held many a twist and turn in ways only the elderly of the profession could testify it as a fact. Including, but not limited to, the forced alliance between two enemy shinobi... between two containers of the Bijuu.

The Akatsuki...

Why has Kumo not heard of them? Any gathering, no matter how rumored it was, of S-class renegades was something to be aware of. Especially if their objective was to collect the hosts of the tailed beasts... and harvest them like some kind of macabre wheat.

Now here they were, two temporary allies under a common threat, skulking about through hallway after hallway like rats and in the buff... weapon-wise that is, armor-wise for Naruto due to his missing armor.

Only one member of the Akatsuki had been identified, Kisame Hoshigaki, "Monster of the Hidden Mist," when he came down to their makeshift cell to check on the status of their prisoners. One S-rank rogue was a scary opponent on their own, but what was unbearable for her was that a second one was lurking somewhere in the dimly lit corridors; the Akatsuki always worked in pairs. Though the name came reluctantly, it didn't do much to alleviate her worries to know that somewhere in this base was a Uchiha lying in wait.

Whether it was condescending pride over their containment or actual ignorance, Kisame left the containers in their false sleep. At the time she had felt weak, deprived of energy, all around useless, but she still retained the power to be surprised to find out that her captured enemy was more than able to slip from his own bonds and made his way over to her.

Freed, _temporarily_ striped of her shirt to get at a series of seals that had been planted upon her sometime during her unconscious state, they scurried through the corridors in a bid to find their way out... with time of the essence.

XVX

Land of Mists proper

Amidst a bamboo forest trailing alongside a dirt path accentuated with the red painted torii often seen in front of a temple, a question rung out. "Are you alright?" Hana stopped chewing on the nail of her thumb to peer on the 'hired muscle' as it were thanks to a devious miniscule monk, if he is one to begin with, but the night before he absconded through the trees at full speed while bidding a 'heart fond' bidding of reuniting sometime in the near future... a fact that Hana added to her mounting ire.

Jubei Kibagami, the man she and Naruto inadvertently spied on, minus his hat, when they were following another who also recently joined their group: Kagero, no last name; a local beauty of the kunoichi, if she was honest with herself, with her alabaster skin and black hair, dressed in a purple battle kimono tied off by a red and white checker sash with a red shirt tucked away underneath, open sandals, white socks, and leg warmers that went up to half of her calves which were black in color with a small tint of blue in some lights.

Stifling a sigh, she tiredly answered his question. "Yeah..." She glanced at the only other member of her original team as he doodled in the dirt with the only other woman in their group before returning to the one activity that gave her any semblance of peace given the current circumstances as he mind walked down a well beaten path by now. Ultimately she knew not what peeved her the most, the fact that sometime during their skirmish that Naruto was abducted, or the fact that everything that should've gave her a clue to his whereabouts from scents to scuffs marks on tree branches simply were not there to be accounted for; it was like he vanished into thin air with that other scent, most likely the remaining shinobi of Kumo, alongside a third that was too faint to be tracked. The whole situation was rotten and she didn't like it.

As for the time being she was in command while their only Jonin, Zabuza, was on the hunt for their missing comrade. Who else was better suited to find a missing shinobi than someone familiar with the lay of the land as well as how to hide long enough to avoid detection? Yet...

"Bite any harder and something is bound to break."

She closed her eyes and gave up the last resistance she had towards sighing, but otherwise did nothing to change herself save easing up on her thumb.

"Alright, here's the plan." Blessed words to her ears despite the lazy drawl.

Doodling may not have been the right word to be used, yet it was what it felt like to Hana. In truth he was spending the past few minutes drawing a rough hewn map of the surrounding area from the Buddhist temple to their current "location" with the help of Kagero with little notes jotted down between various locations. All eyes glanced over as he began to explain his plan.

"We're going to split up..." The Nara had to suppress a shudder when he literally felt a twitch come off from his superior... the fact she was practically bathed in an aura of her own killing intent did not help the matter. Sweat beaded his forehead as he continued, though with a slight shudder. "Considering we don't know each other very well I believe teams of the people we're most familiar with will do. Hana and I will be scouting the beach for clues while Jubei and Kagero will take the cliffs. Any questions?" he asked in the fashion his usual fashion, despite the now lessening but substantial aggravated force that was sent his way.

"I have one." All eyes turned to the green garbed man casually leaning against the post of one of the torii. "Where do you plan on us to rendezvous?" A lazy finger pointed at a town in what was presumably north of their also supposed location. "We'll meet here at the hills between the port of Kishima and the local temple there by the end of the day if not sooner provided that it can be helped." Jubei grunted as he mutely digs his sheathed sword into the ground to help himself up.

Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck with his eyes closed. He slowly draws his eyes open to turn to Hana. "You ready for-"

His jaw hung in mid-sentence to find that Hana had disappeared-

"Are you coming or what?!" she angrily snarled.

- to a few feet behind him with her dogs at the ready.

"Troublesome."

XVX

The lower double digits, that much Zabuza was certain about the number of times he had come to this particular country. Greater than ten, but less than twenty for sure.

Even if he didn't come here at all, a good number of shinobi back in Kiri were made aware of a series of prepared hideouts that could be used in the event they had to take shelter or outright hide in the Land of Mists in the event they were in need of them. Whether or not any of the shinobi from his original village actually used them was an unknown. The one fact that he could rely on is that they were purposely barren in the event the locals found any of them and had to be left with their own conclusions as to who built them and why with little to no risk of Kiri of being accused of sabotage or spying on them; one such hideout stood as testament to this now validated paranoid reasoning upon being discovered as being used as a hidden armory for some clan if the unused samurai armor was to prove anything.

For the time being Zabuza had searched a total of six hideouts. Six hideouts that were a bust save for the last one; foot prints of the Elemental shinobi type.

That alone however only proved that someone was there at some point in time. A team from Kiri for example could have used it. The Kumo that snuck into the country may have found it and used it as a temporary camp. Or a third, slightly more dark theory...

Kisame Hoshigaki was his senior by three years... and the chances were reasonably high for him to have been here in that three year difference.

Of course that particular theory was in debate: namely what would lead Akatsuki's presence in the Land of Mists. A mission? Perhaps.

Yet there was the fact that their agenda consisted of collecting people just like Naruto... on that note, it would help explain why there is the distinct lack of a third body that was formerly of Kumo's affiliation...

If he was half right, and the fact that Hana is still breathing, than the missing _kunoichi_ in question was none other than Yugito Nii... the lesser threat of Kumo's containers by right of intensity in battle. He had unfortunately seen corpses left behind the elder and more powerful of the two to deduce that much. The guy was a rapping Might Guy with swords if the rumors were true...

An involuntary shudder almost cost him his next step in his tree hopping to another potentially occupied hideout. "One nut job is bad enough," he mumbled to himself.

The man comes to an abrupt stop on the latest branch to host his presence as a minor epiphany struck him out of nowhere. "It's too coincidental."

A lucky find during a mission wasn't unheard of, but dropping in on a fight between the two-tails' and the nine-tails' hosts in a land that shunned the outside world when possible was approaching odds so high that his head ached just for flirting with the idea of trying to take them into account.

"It's possible..." Overall the Elemental Nations, when talking about the Great Hidden Villages, was at a state of peace, however tenuous at any given time. Deliberate and direct clashes between them such as the very brief war between Konoha and Suna was strictly forbidden... on the mainland that is. Yet in a place like the Land of Mists, a place that bowed to no one but itself, it was a political loophole to the peace pact. In fact he could kill shinobi from any village on the very soil he stood above on and he could walk away scot-free with hisses and name calling cast at him at worse if word ever got out. The Land of Mists' isolation policy and lack of communication was a plus that greatly helped out in simply covering up their deaths if the matter was ever looked into.

But with that given neutrality, it was possible that this Shogun character, or quite possibly someone else entirely with connections to grant them passage into the independent nation, probably hired Kumo to protect his/her interests, and inadvertently granting them a free pass to do as they pleased to shinobi from other villages.

Yet if neither was the case... then Akatsuki has a far reaching hand indeed. A clever man could arrange and take advantage of this very situation his subordinate faced at this very moment... but the trouble didn't end there...

XVX

Hideout

It was too quiet if anything at all...

In fact the entire situation at hand now reeked of a trap. Other than footprints left behind by Kisame, there was little to suggest that anyone was using the underground base that was their impromptu prison beyond their cell and destroyed restraints.

The fact that they're respective equipment was found and unprotected sans Naruto's earpiece radio, both of which plundered of their respective surprises being a relative nonissue of the moment, only added to the growing foreboding mood that was mounting.

As of the moment they were glowering at the only doorway projecting any measure of natural light with thoughts unsaid but the same nonetheless. No resistance. No traps. No seals, sans their containment. Unguarded doorway. Ambush.

The question now was how to proceed.

XVX

Outside

If anyone had to guess, the way 'Tobi' was looking at the unoccupied ground beneath the outcropping of rock he sat on was the same type of look often seen in tyrannical lords operating under the belief that everything, no matter what deviates from it, was going according to plan or will work out with himself on top as he sat atop his stone seat. That was at least the rough opinion drawn by Kisame as he kept his distance behind the masked and hooded man that was his partner now...

He was definitely not the persona he tried to project back in the meeting about his induction to the organization. He is much colder in person than what he tried to cover up.

Manipulative too given his commands to date: any dumb schmuck could get out of their 'prison,' but that wasn't the point. He knows that the younger blond knew full well who he, Kisame, was and he wouldn't put it past the brat to have warned the other one. Between the two of them, escape was possible if not slow in coming between the restraints, precautionary low grade chakra sealing seals, and most likely a debriefing of sorts given the length of time that had passed since he had left their hideout. Add the fact that not so much as a string linked to a set of empty cans hadn't been set up...

No. 'Tobi' was sending them a message. Whether or not they get it was moot when the fighting will undoubtedly start. But even he, should he be in their shoes, would have to give pause towards the unflinchingly doubtless arrogance behind the whole thing to say "do what you will, it doesn't matter against my will."

The only good thing, by relativity, about this was the fact the guy cracked the weapon seals inside the brat's armor though another ploy of domination if there was one. To be honest he partially wished the masked man hadn't done that, and he could have sworn he heard him swear in the midst of transporting what would amount a small armory's worth in firepower to the region that dominates the distance between the swordsman and the mask wearer.

Bullets, grenades, explosive notes, and kunai by the armful were to be partially expected yet the weapons themselves...

Had the kid been taking in S-rank missions on the side to gain the terrifying number of weapons he amassed? He'd at least need a handful of B-ranks to maintain them all let alone supply himself with ammo.

At minimum there were three weapons to each type of gun he had heard of: Pistols, SMGs, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers... the chief commonality they all shared, save for a few, was that none of which were the same model to their respective category. Curious, but even swordsmen were known to do similar acts for situational purposes to which was most the only reasonable deduction Kisame could come up with about the cache of weapons.

There were two exceptions to the standards as they appeared to be: the pistols save one, knives, and in one case a rifle of unknown design.

Knives were to expected though the designs varied from thick blades to lengthy ones and a mix in between. The pistols were in packs of four for each design from revolvers to semi-automatics. The one pistol however... it was hefty in design. The "iron-sight" as some gun fanatics he overheard called it was a length of steel shaped almost like a T that ran from the very back to the muzzle of the handheld weapon. No hammer though. Odd but a number of the other weapons supposedly operated without one... that he could see at least.

Then there was the outright king of sniper rifles it seemed. The design was simple as can be... but heavy and obscenely larger than its compatriots in purpose. As far as he could tell, it was a custom job to its very core without any form of alteration made onto it. He could not help but question the reasoning towards even daring to carry this hulk around, seal storage notwithstanding. Could he even use it? Perhaps if setting up was involved...

The creak of the 'base's' door snapped Kisame out of his musings. The former swordsman of Kiri sighed quietly as he cracked his neck.

As he had done that, Tobi, by no other name, soundlessly gotten to his feet and observed the blonds below him. Out of the two, he wasn't entirely sure who was more dangerous.

The Two-Tails container: Yugito Nii, age twenty-eight. Since the age of two she had tirelessly worked to be at least a decent user of a Bijuu's power.

"Then again Kumo pride themselves in training," he thought to himself. Kumo was considered the strongest village for a multitude of reasons, and rigorous training of their shinobi was the foundation of one of those reasons. Though a nation of brutes compared to the other villages, their status is well earned much like the rank of Jonin was a justly rewarded achievement to the elder host.

Then there was Naruto, the host of the Nine-Tails. A Chunin. Judging from the seals that were holding his weapons, the kid was undoubtedly knowledgeable about how they worked; of course those restraint seals were child's play to anyone who picked up the book... still it was a factor to be considered.

He was familiar in elemental ninjutsu given his performance at the exams. Last but not least he was a ranged weapons expert.

But what of his skills as a container? He can tap into the Fox's power, that much was confirmed but nothing else was told of his abilities in that area. It was frustrating to think that this child was holding that information back as a trump card.

But does it matter against a seal master and a living, breathing, chakra eating machine? The Akatsuki were not pushovers by any means; S-ranked shinobi were a force to be feared for a reason.

A dull "ahem" bought the attention of the tensed duo below. Both glared up at their shadowed, but not indescribable, company as he stared at them from up on high through his orange spiral mask. He did not miss the exchange of glances between them; the flash of confusion and stern assessment between them often only seen between those from the same village.

"So who are you if I may ask?" Yugito asked casually enough for any conversation at the precipice of a battle but not enough to hide the hint of promised pain should it come to it.

The man tilted his head to the side, and abruptly did so again much like a dog trying to hear. "Isn't it polite to tell your name first before asking someone else's name?" he asked childishly as can be. A grin formed behind his mask as they both twitched at the response.

However short it was, the distracting and perturbing reply was enough to let Kisame flicker into existence behind them with his sword at the ready. Unfortunately his sudden presence wasn't enough to keep them from reacting.

How they knew he was behind them, Tobi couldn't say, but they both ducked and rolled in opposite directions interestingly enough. Naruto rolled towards and kicked the ground to give himself distance between him the swordsman, but not without deliberately tagging him in the leg with a useless slap. During this move the older blond came at Tobi while Kisame turned towards the other retreating blond with a vicious grin of a challenge accepted, eagerly giving chase after his prey in the forest beyond with a hand poised in a jutsu seal.

During which Tobi curiously gazed upon a kunoichi running at him in what could be described as a leisurely pace to the speed every shinobi goes by.

His one visible eye became half lidded in a annoyed glare and he stepped to the side in time to avoid a strike from behind. A quick glance revealed the fingerless gloved hand of Yugito attempting to run him through with unusually elongated nails sharpened to a point for each finger. Another step to the side saved him from another such clawed hand. She jumped back before any retaliation was made and resumed the attack before Tobi could collect himself.

The clone of her sped past them both in a bid to reach the stash of weapons laid bare, unfortunately unaware as a foot stomps at a seal hidden between the small collection of rocks and grass.

In a glow of angry red, it sprung to life in a release of earth spiking upwards in jagged blades. The clone, impaled, bursts into a cloud of smoke. Yugito flinched at the sudden onrush of information bearing the lethal surprise awaiting those who came near the weapon cache and jumps back once again when Tobi finally lashes out with a kunai.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"

Eyes widened to dinner plates upon learning the use of a jutsu without a seal, and with a mask on no less...

XVX

Land of Mist Forest

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Naruto took to the shaking trees as the sudden onrush of water assails them in his place and threatens to topple them is the sudden climb to drown him. He hissed to himself to find Kisame ready and waiting for him as he came down with Samehada eager to tear into him.

The container back flips to another branch behind him in time for Kisame to sail by and rip off the branch he was just on but a moment before and crashing into the water beneath that seemed to refuse the idea of rushing off naturally.

A momentary scowl was all but visible under Naruto's repaired mask as he pulled it down and took off a gauntlet. He bite into his thumb and begun the process of summoning while attempting to keep track of his adversary, an act of futility as Kisame made himself scarce amongst the submerged trees.

Slamming a hand against the tree while muttering "Summoning Jutsu," he jumps off without word nor glance towards what he summoned in favor of higher 'ground' in hopes of gaining some amount of security towards a surprise attack.

Another glance towards his surroundings was given. "A waiting game," he surmised to himself. Slipping his gauntlet and mask back on, he sighs to himself in a shaky manner as he tentatively sits against the bark of the tree that was his roost for the time being as he ignored the instinct to run.

This was the best option he had. He was no Nara by any means but that didn't deprive him of the ability to think. If he had stayed with Yugito then they surely would've been overwhelmed by Kisame and an absolute unknown. He was wearing the cloak so his affiliation is obvious, but that didn't explain his identity. And according to his mother when they last met, there were a total of six men in Akatsuki and two of which weren't a part of the Bingo book though each were named and given a description.

The idea of this masked man being a new member was certainly a valid hypothesis given the cloak and Kisame's presence but that in itself presented a rather disturbing question for him... "Where is Burūmūn?"

Unfortunately as the case was, the only answer to this question had a history of defending information to the point of being cruel. Kisame Hoshigaki, former guard to the Cypher Division of Kiri in the last war... till he slain its members to protect Kiri's secrets from Ibiki Morino when he took to the field.

Casting that aside however, Naruto knew his chances borderline on insanity towards defeating the swordsman by himself as he is now, and that was even factoring in going all out with his tenant's power. Of course, gambits were always as such when the wall was reached.

A Rasengan formed, with a slight distaste, and the blond turned around viciously without truly getting up as soon as the cannon roar of something emerging from the depths below resounded, followed by a duller copy a moment later.

"_Crap_!"

Kisame snarled as he was caught between a python and the tree with a Rasengan coming at him as icing to the cake. His displeasure turned to a sickening grin to the Chunin's shock at the point of impact and the reason soon revealed itself... as a water clone of the shinobi in question returning to its natural state at the blow.

Something else rocketed up from the water below: a shark of a Great White's proportions on the hunt of its meal. Naruto jumped to escape its jaws as it made the branch beneath him a substitute meal. It was a mistake.

Steel bent under the blow of a downward fist and the Chunin's ascent was turned into a drop with his enemy following without leaving the disfigured backplate, the momentum was compounded when Kisame planted his feet to the tree and drove his prey to the water below. The shark took leave of the world in the same way most summons arrive, followed by the python.

What air Naruto had was knocked out of him at the forced transition between air and water and his masks' functions kicked into overdrive at the contact of water to keep him from drowning. Kisame's descent continued unabated with his intent clear, ramming the boy into the soaked ground below without releasing him from his unique hold.

Before even reaching halfway from the surface, his pace was met with resistance. Heavy resistance as currents began to form and bubbles arose, all of which conjoined and ran into the two in an increasing push to the world above.

It proved too much for Kisame to overpower and consequentially both were consumed by the pillar of water that hurled them out and away from the other.

Swords clashed viciously from what Naruto heard in before his second landing in water and after subsequent emergence, and several forms both human and none formed at the battlefield partially hidden by trees as Kisame took to a new opponent.

By instinct and training, Naruto flinched when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and yanked him out of the water and jumped away cautiously as the Konoha Chunin assumed the defensive.

Eyes narrowed suspiciously at the rather placid tones adorning the dark skinned man's face though partially covered in white hair with a touch of cream in the coloring; eyes that took in his features even as he held his hands up to placate the owner of said eyes.

He was most obviously from Kumo from the black clothing and the white single strap flak jacket protecting him, yet his headband wasn't in plain view. His armament was only a large sword strapped to his back much like a cleaver in design.

"I'm not here to fight you," he said simply and bluntly, both hands dropping to his sides.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!" Zabuza cried out from a distance.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" cried Kisame.

"Dull," the Cloud shinobi drawls to himself.

"You're purpose?" Naruto tersely demands, his outermost foot drifting towards himself.

A hand meant to ease the tension rose up once again on behalf of the dark skinned man. "Unlike the others you probably faced before, my team and I aren't here to fight you or your own team. We're here to retrieve them."

The collision of chakra enhanced water prevented him from speaking further, following by swords clashing once more. A fog started to creep through the scene from the now fully concealed battle where it was the thickest in density.

"Hey, do you mind if we continue this conversation elsewhere before you're teammate mistakes us for Kisame Hoshigaki?"

XVX

Outer Hideout

To say things were going badly was to say the sun was hot. Any attack Yugito had made thus far since her opponent went on the offensive had been avoided entirely or in one cased countered... now her left arm hung uselessly at her side as it screamed for relief from the onset pain as the most significant injury to her aside from the bruises hidden under her clothes and the shiner on her eye.

Whoever this man is, he was a master of his style that he did not name. The only time he ever pipe up was the calling out of the very same jutsu that signified his first attack. It was the only jutsu he had used to date.

Giving her enemy a swipe, she kicked back to give herself distance to breath. She hissed to herself as an angry red glow erupted from the rock her foot hand landed on and to which she leapt away from it as well to only be peppered by the fireballs of the accursed Phoenix Sage Fire technique.

Seals... self activating seals to be more accurate. The entire area was littered with them and awaiting for her or some other sap to fall victim to them; a lurking danger of spikes and other traps waiting for a beleaguered foot to stay there. Combined with the series of fireballs the masked man kept spewing, it was a rather threatening combination if not lethal.

Her good hand swatted away the flames that coated her clothes at the moment of her landing, another testament towards the one-sided fight now as rips, cuts, and some fraying permitted her skin to peak through in some areas.

Unfortunately her attacker came at her once again with the kunai in hand.

"Yo! Say! Ho!" The Akatsuki member came to a skidding stop while the Two-Tailed host' jaw threatened to drop at the familiarity of the voice behind it.

Like a comet, a dark skinned man crashed into the space between Yugito and the spiral mask user wearing the garb of Kumo minus a shirt underneath the flak jacket, a blue inked tattoo featuring the kanji for "Iron" on his right shoulder, a white scarf around his neck, a pair of oval shades keeping his eyes hidden, and a white band on his head which proudly held his country's plate. On his back were several swords, seven in all.

"Oh goody, the host of the Eight-Tails presents himself," the masked man sneers without his whimsical tone from earlier as he backs away from him.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! That's Killer B and you're talkin' to me! Don't go disrepectin' me!" the man shouted as he drew his swords and hooked them to the natural clutches on his body.

Meanwhile, Yugito gasps when a pair of arms clenched around her and hauled her away in leaps and bounds. "What is going on?!" she hissed in pain at the shinobi of her village as he took her a fair distance away. "Other than saving your hide?" Her head jerked to another who seemed to have ghosted into her presence, one bearing white hair and the same kind of dark skin. "Darui," she acknowledged. A flicker of movement caught her eye, but the culprit responsible had ducked behind the trees of the surrounding woods.

"Would you please elaborate?" she asked, her hiss of pain drastically reduced now that her carrier was at rest and letting her down to her feet as gently as possible. "Surely the Raikage-"

"Never approved of this mission," Darui interrupted.

The Kunoichi's jaw dropped and tried to close several times before her senses retook her. "What do you mean he didn't?!" she snarled. "He was the one who handed my team the mission scroll!"

"You're team left a week ago, did you not?"

Her brows knitted together as she replied to his casually intoned question. "Yes."

Darui calmly pointed a thumb at himself and a finger at Killer B as his sword dance threatened to destroy the outermost edges of the masked man's cloak as he desperately tried to keep a distance between them.

"The Raikage was at the Lightning Daimyo's court at that time with B and I acting as his guards," he plainly said. His comrade's stood shocked at the unspoken implication behind it all.

"Then-"

"We don't know who was impersonating the Raikage, and it seems whoever was behind this scheme went to great lengths to avoid leaving a trail behind," Darui interrupted once more.

Dumbstruck as an apt description for Yugito and the Jonin beside her.

Darui's attention turn to Killer B and his fight with the cloak wearing shinobi as he drew another kunai out and jumped away. "What can you tell me about these so called "Akatsuki" you and the blond kid were fighting?" he asked with due severity.

Every joint in Yugito's body stiffened in silent shock, accompanied by the pain of muscles in protest, at the mention of the only person who could fit that description. A mental shake of the head was enough to clear her mind for the question at hand. "From what I've been told they are an all S-rank rogue shinobi group that specializes in the capture and detainment of Bijuu and their hosts for extraction purposes."

The lone eye of Darui widened before resuming its normal look in quiet contemplation. "I see," he calmly states. "Anything else?" he adds as a afterthought.

Yugito grimaces as she glances towards the fight, a fight that _seemed_ to be in reverse of her own with the secretive shinobi. Movement to the side caught her attention once again and the culprit was made clear in the form of a small army of her former enemy assaulting the weapon pile. "Anything else?" Darui repeated.

Shaken out of it, she finally replies when she returns her attention to her immediate superior. "Throughout my fight it seems the one in the mask has been holding back for reasons I can only guess at, though I suspect it does not have anything to do with his mission objective. He had only used one kunai, taijutsu of a unknown variety, and one fire type jutsu throughout my confrontation. He seemed to have taken the time before our encounter to litter trap based seals that activate in the presence of foreign chakra given that he has yet to fall victim to them in any manner." As if validate her claim, the Naruto army was beset by the very traps that fell upon her: earthen spikes, gusts of shredding winds, and even small explosions. Each taking a toll of the expendable army by three or four clones at a time at most.

A handful of the Naruto clones went airborne to find a difference menace altogther.

The _twang_ of a mechanism nearby alerted the shinobi of Kumo to its presence, and trained eyes barely made out the vanishing darkened set of figures flying overhead and straight into the descending clones and proved enough to destroy them. Below a second wave of the clones advanced just as eager as the first with a few jumping up prematurely only to suffer the same fate of their predecessors, though not without a cost to the traps themselves.

On a hunch, Darui scampered to a tree and climbed to find evidence of his mounting suspicion: crossbows by the pack riveted to the tree. Augmented crossbows with copper encased spyglass attached to the underside of the design that went all the way to the trigger. On the top was mounted a wooden casing with a tube etched in seals locking and interconnecting with one another that glowed a soft blue that bit into the tree the crossbow was mounted to. The ear of the inspecting shinobi twitched at the faint sound of scrapping emanating from the tube itself. A tentative pair of fingers crept up to the field of vision of the spyglass.

"_Twang_!"

A bolt sprung loose from its holding, its mark unclear given that Darui being beneath its projected aim and the scrapping increased by a busied octave. "Self supplying autoloader with visionary reaction," he concluded to himself as he gazed at the small grouping of crossbows keeping anyone from avoiding a ground approach. "Is the very depths of the earth itself rigged to ward off trespassers?" he mused. Given that no clones have yet to emerge from the ground itself he could only guess that either it was, the Leaf shinobi assailing the spot with clones lacked Earth jutsus, or haven't thought of it yet.

A quick flash of hand seals occured and soon a fist was coated within the destructive field of lightning. "Lightning Release: Destructive Fist!"

Below Yugito winced slightly at the shock produced from Darui's attack, her light surprised turned to genuine fear for her comrade's life when a second explosion occurred... an explosion that torn the tree's top asunder.

The soft plop of something landing on the ground earned her attention to Darui, seemingly unaffected by the blast itself, as he stood up straight and brushed off falling embers of burnt wood from his uniform. "Good thing I took a precaution," he uttered dully.

Meanwhile Tobi glanced towards the carnage that was once a improvised platform and sighed. "As the Nara would say, _troublesome_," he sighed as he blocked a glancing strike of a sword and side stepped a stab.

"Even more so now! Seal Technique: Mass Seal Break!" someone bellowed with the enthusiasm of a hero arriving just in time. Tobi flickered away and gawked at the man who made his presence known...

"Jiraiya Muyo?!" he all but screamed through clenched teeth.

"Ha ha! The same! The man every woman in existance screams for attention! The most handsome man in all the land! The Great Hermit of Mount Myōboku! Jiraiya of the Sannin!" the white haired man exuberated without a hint of concern or care.

The masked man sent a pulse of chakra to confirm what he had feared... to find it was indeed so. At least half of his remaining traps within range were decimated by the justly named jutsu the Toad Sage had called out earlier.

"Great," he hoarsely whispered through clenched teeth.

Bijuu and their carriers were a planned factor even with the deviation he danced too, a shinobi with the skills of a Kage wasn't one such event he had planned. "How did he even get here?!" he screamed in his mind.

"You know-"

Before Jiriaya could end what he began, the man before him jumped back a far greater distance than his previous battles combined with a single hand seal in the open while the other dug into his cloak, and act that was quickly followed by a surge of chakra; of energy to make manifest his plot made on a whim.

At once every seal remaining ignited their preset trap, some more pronounced than others as spires rose to the sky and fire consumed what greenery they cold, enough of a distraction for him to make an escape.

The distinct sound of a whistle was what drew Jiriaya's attention back to the Akatsuki member former spot with only a launched red flare bearing evidence that he was there.

"Damn it," he hissed.

XVX

Forest

"Damn it," Kisame growled.

The variable lake that was Kisame's jutsu had long since sunk into the earth or had run off during the battle, now ended by the high pitched whistling and flare that rose above the canopy of the surrounding trees.

With Samehada, he blocks a downward strike from Kubikiribōchō. "Sorry but unfortunately I have to pull out," Kisame grunts before kicking Zabuza away without looking and flickers away.

"Damn it," Zabuza growls as well.

XVX

Land of Snow

"Damn it," was the dying croak of a man of long brown hair, a face with blockish features, and garbed in regal clothing now stained with blood and two tears of twin blades sliding out of both cloth and flesh.

"Acting is good and all," spoke a teenage girl in a white wetsuit that appeared behind the fallen man. A flak jacket adorned her shoulders and breasts, tinted slightly gray in color yet remained white all the same. Gloves, boots, and a incomplete belt were also part of the suit of the same make. Faint electric blue lines cross the suit in symmetry to each other at both sides that slip in and out of the more armored points of the body.

"But," she continued as she brings up goggles that masked her eyes of the same color as the suit to reveal chocolate eyes, "it's always pays to use the right equipment. Wouldn't you say so Princess Kazahana?" she asked a dumbstruck woman on the floor that had witness the man's death.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Real life, family based troubles, evil problems, and a duel to the death as it were have taken most of my time. Admittedly these are more along the lines of excuses.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, for what it's worth.**

**Flamers, I certainly would not mind if you were listed under KBB. If you are not aware of what KBB means, I suggest you watch Big Bang Theory.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 23: In the din, part 1

_(Flashback!)_

Ferris Prime

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" The infuriating Vox demanding his attention was crushed in the hand of a lone guardsman as he observed the mountain stronghold before him from behind an outcropping of rock. To his left was the maimed remnants of his battalion, cut short by the whims of an idiotic man believing in the might they did not have; experience was ignored over brawn. The men the lieutenant couldn't blame for following orders least they get the whip if not the firing squad, all fault lied with the commissar. Even if they had Orgryn, tanks, or even heavy armor like the Marines, the line could not be breached with a _frontal attack_. The damned fool...

Ferris Prime was all in all a planet of mountains with an _extreme_ few valleys for agriculture, and even then it was a struggle. The one and only city they had on the planet was a small one at best on the surface and only growing by four inches a year, yet it was more cramped than taking a walkway with walls as a home; anything amounting to a town or a community lived on cliffs if there wasn't any mining to disturb the precarious balance. The only real work there was, outside of joining the Imperial Guard or Navy, composed primarily of mining for the abundance of minerals beneath the stone, yet dynamite, picks, and frankly anything else that was remotely useful in a mining operation was used up in spades to break through seemingly unyielding rock that only grew progressively worse when they managed to dig deeper. The solar system in question was in the farthest reach of the Imperium, guarded by only one outpost that served little more than a marker for any ship that found itself nearby. A single trip to or from the solar system itself, not to mention Ferris Prime, could take three months to reach the nearest market or city. Last but not least were the problems that worried any planet, war. Though out of the way for most, even for the minions of Chaos, it was beset by Orks and the rare raiding party of the Dark Eldar; the Orks, though few in number from the lack of spare food to raid or grow in their own right, were the fiercest to ever exist only to be matched by an army of starved miners made only worse from lack of progress in the mines and other inconveniences that kept building upon them.

Between the living conditions, the battles that did take place, the lack of civilization of Ferris' system, and taxes upon a decrepit economy, revolts were an all too common sight that forced neighbors to choose sides. It was the only reason the commissars had to be called in.

Ferris Prime, being a mining planet, did come armed with military stations whose sole purpose was to defend the few ships that composed of the planet's trade route. Yet they followed the mining code. Orks, being the most common threat, attack in numbers. Deprive their chief advantage in any fight with a narrow walkway and they die like any other creature at the opposing end of a chaingun or an autocannon if nothing else. That tactic didn't only affect Orks however.

What soldiers were more brave, perhaps even heretical by disobeying orders, enough to ignore the commissar of the guard took cover where they can when the cannons opened up and even then there were casualties. He was in all likelihood the last one left... for now. The fool had requisitioned more troops amidst the chaos that was the battle and now a new battalion was on the march by foot and if the lieutenant was half right then they would meet the same fate under the command of that battalion's commissar, and he would be shot down as a coward long before he could warn them. That part was a fact given their conversation but moments before.

That was not a fate the lieutenant intended to die under if he had a say. Taking his forlorn gaze to the fortress housing a planetary cannon, a grim resolve took hold of him.

Immediately he crawled to but one of the many crevices that kept such large numbers and enemy armor at bay, only to stop at a rock to check on his equipment of two laspistols, a power blade and sword, and one IED kept more as a memento of days now replaced with carnage rather than mining. His finger toyed with the awaiting trigger with faint interest and a longing wish.

His face contorted-

_Crash!_

_(End Flashback!)_

XVX

Unknown location, Konoha

A lone tired blue eye cracked open in the dark in a languid fashion at the. "Weren't you trained to move carefully in the dark?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well excuse me for not having night vision like you."

XVX

Medical Training Ward, Hospital

Paperwork was starting to look like _very_ friendly proposition right now to Tsunade Senju. As to the source of her current growing migraine, there was only three other persons in the room with the Sannin unless one counted the corpses whom wished to flee despite the natural laws of life and death; Tsunade was starting to gain a respectable amount of understanding as to why Naruto had taken to trying to avoid his "girlfriends" when humanely possible.

How they manifested opposing whirlwinds of energy that clashed against each other from the _opposite_ sides of the room she will never understand. The only blessing Tsunade could thank was the fact that it wasn't _all three_ of them here 'training' to become medics. Of course many a medic or doctor had been known to use their expertise to further their own agenda...

Maybe agreeing to teaching Hinata and Haku was one of the greatest mistakes that she knows will come back to bite her somehow. Sakura by herself was enough of a pain, an understandable one given she was just starting to learn the ropes, by herself...

The Sannin's eyes bulged at the sight of a cadaver getting up and running from... where was Sakura?

Almost immediately after the cadaver dove past the door, the smoke from a telltale henge erupted from it and whoever was behind it disappeared from sight. It was enough cause for the suspicious set of eyes to narrow and the woman behind them to position herself a few steps to the right to find that one of the examination tables now bore two corpses as opposed to one.

"Oh for the love of..." A thumb and a finger rubbed her eyes in stress. "I need a drink," Tsunade muttered.

Meanwhile behind the swinging door was Sakura panting up a storm as she reclaimed what nerve she could gather as she made herself comfortable against the wall. It was short lived.

"Hey Sakura!"

"Aaaaah!" Ino was treated to the small delight of her friend crashing onto the floor with both hands clutching at her heart to prevent it from _bursting_ out of her chest as her breath was now ragged and shot.

"Uh... what happened to you?" the blond asked curiously enough.

A pair of horror stricken eyes tainted slightly with anger glared up at the Yamanaka. "Don't sneak up on me like that," Sakura hoarsely whispered between breaths. A slightly devious smile tugged on Ino's lips as she bent over to look at her disheveled and jittery companion. "Is learning the human anatomy a little too much for you? I guess I can understand with all the blood, guts, bones, muscle-"

"I'd like to see you stay in that room for a full minute," Sakura challenged with her gaze more content with the wall as she lied on the floor while slowly regaining her composure once again.

"Oh it certainly can't be that bad-" started Ino while passing the fallen kunoichi to open the door to the training room as designated by the Hokage. She barely cracked the door open before closing it far quicker than the first act the second a gale assailed her. "On second thought perhaps I should go... train..." She nervously chuckled as she backpedaled to the wall.

"Coming through!" a chunin urgently yelled as he barreled down the hallway, ignoring or ignorant of the downed and gasping kunoichi he passed by to reach the same door Ino retreated from.

The results were not too different. The second the chunin opened the door, he slammed it shut and back up at least half the distance from the opposing wall with his own flesh shuddering. "Well... it's not exactly a _dire_ emergency," he nervously chuckled to himself in his bid to convince himself into waiting... then the door flew open.

Sakura completely shut down after the latest scare. Ino, being in the direct path of blast the forceful breeze laced with latent amounts of the will to kill, fainted shortly after Sakura.

The chunin didn't have that luxury as Tsunade's peircing glare rooted him in place. "What?!" she snarled. Then the chunin fainted. It took an agitated stare at the crumpled body before her to spot a scroll in his clutch to which prevented her from palming her face in annoyance.

XVX

Meanwhile, Kiri 'General Hospital'

"No matter how I look at it, we're living on the set for a B-rated horror movie," Shikamaru half mumbled and half whined as he checkmated the opposing king once again. "Blame politics," grouched Hana as she glowered at the shogi board.

It had been over three days since the completion of their mission, and two days since a all but endless storm mucked up their ability to return to their village. They sent a message to the Hokage to report their success amongst other things, and that they would most likely be late thanks to the weather reports... and they had been in this 'hospital' ever since with the shinobi from Kumo...

The 'hospital' as it were, or was, once was indeed one for a time till their funding was cut off for their lack of patients and the fact that the hospital was at minimum fifty miles from the nearest town worked against their case. In more recent years it was converted into a temporary rebel headquarters, the signs of fighting were still evident even after the courtesy clean up. Now it was their abode since Zabuza's reputation had either set people on edge or had him eyed hungrily for his sword and the fame to be claimed for killing him despite his current allegiance as well as Kiri's alliance with Konoha which was formed in recent months. Kumo for its part lacked any alliances with the major villages as well as Iwa for that matter, and the roving waves of the storm that beset the island had forced the hands of both sides to share one building.

What was actually eating away at Hana's position, apart from being bested by Shikamaru in shogi without a single loss to his name at anyone's hands, was the revelation of the Akatsuki. Or rather the lack of information given about the Akatsuki. She found it cold comfort that she too was left in the dark about it much like the Cloud shinobi, but it mattered little when the source of the information was being tight lipped about it. The only other source was her superior... and he had a big sword. There would've been a third but he had taken to living in Kiri for the past while...

"Perverted bastard," she grouched in her mind.

Her knowledge was as limited as the knowledge Kumo had about the group of S-rank rogues. Ten members total, works in pairs... with a hiccup in organization if she read Naruto right. Something had disturbed the bandana wearer and it involved the only other known rogue swordsman of Kiri's Seven and that man in the spiral mask she heard mentioned by Yugito Nii. There was supposed to be a Uchiha with Kisame, that much was certain. But that was where the question began for her: did Naruto know Kisame's partner before this masked man took the role?

Her theory was reinforced by what she knew by Naruto, specifically his habits. If he was cleaning and/or maintaining any of his weapons only once without some form of provocation, he was bored or it was a simple need for it. If he had taken to cleaning/maintaining his weapons twice, with no particular pair of weapons in particular, in one day then he is in some way worried or blowing off steam depending on the circumstances beforehand. She had never seen him do this particular act more than twice in one day and it wasn't limited to one or two weapons, he was rechecking and rechecked weapons he already went through. And when the rain did let him for a short spell of sunlight, clouded or not, he had taken to roaming outside to avoid everyone.

The kunoichi was at a crossroads on either strangling the other chunin for information she knows she had or strangling him to he spilt whatever was bothering him.

"Checkmate." Blinking like an owl, Hana gaped at the board to find that it had been reset but no move was cast. The gawk turned into a scowl to the Nara without a spoken question. "I managed to beat you in an average of ten moves. Resistance. Is. Futile."

A single hand cracked its own knuckle. "How about a different tactic?" It was more of a statement than it was a question from the Inuzuka.

XVX

"UNCLE! UNCLE!" The only thing that could possibly drown out the pained cries of Shikamaru was the roar of laughter from Zabuza who apparently had a front row seat to whatever mauling the Nara was enduring. Second row at worst.

"Dull," Darui groaned as he tried to plug his ears with cleaned rags he had collected from his wanderings of the former hospital. Nearby Yugito twitched her brow. "How is this "dull" exactly?"

It would seem that the rags were doing their job given his lack of a response.

XVX

Outdoors

It was one of those periods when it stopped raining and had been so for the past half hour. The sun had yet to peak out from the veil of clouds still heavy with rain.

As of the moment, Naruto sat at the edge of the hospital's roof. His mind continued to grate against itself over and over about the Akatsuki ambush a few days ago. Was he just being paranoid? Over thinking about the details? A set up to catch specifically Naruto off guard given that he already knew Kisame was paired with beforehand? Probably on all counts.

But that didn't dissuade him from thinking of the possibility that someone either was selling information out of Konoha or infiltrated it all together if Darui was to be believed that someone managed to impersonate the Raikage long enough to hand out a false mission to Yugito and her team. How else would it explain the ambush? The attack alone was suspicious in its own right; what are the chances that the Akatsuki would just stumble on a conflict between two containers in a country like the Land of Mist?

"Yo, yo, yo! Nine-Tails bro! Stay outside and the storm might go!" With a throaty squeal of sudden shock, Naruto grabbed the small rise that marked the boundary of the roof lest he fall in his startled state and vehemently glared behind him at a more ignorant shinobi famed for his skill in rapping, B, as he muttered to himself as he wrote into a small notepad.

"He's a stealthy Might Guy!" Naruto snarled in thought. He may not hate the green clad shinobi back at Konoha but he had to agree with Zabuza that the man was a bit of a menace with his 'glorious' quest to bring "youth" to every aspect he can partake in. Naruto also held Lee in the same regard though to a slightly more tolerable extent... which usually vanished when Naruto himself was targeted by the possible clone of the Jonin.

Loyalties might be tested if the two ever came under the same banner of the same village...

"What could be worse than that?" Naruto asked himself. Surely nothing worse than that could exist...

Unfortunately one concept did exist... and the flesh of the dark armored shinobi took a green tinge to its color while Killer B wrestled with his notebook.

XVX

Meanwhile, Training ground Nine, Konoha

It was the end of days as they knew it. What their teammate had proposed could only be excepted by one person in their team while the other two contemplated suicide.

"Yes Lee! That sounds like the a most excellent idea! What better way to spread the power of Youth than to combine our energies and the power of rapping!"

Neji bolted to the nearby trees to fulfill the demanding desire to vomit. Tenten however...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH-"

"Wake up! Tenten, wake up!"

XVX

Actuality, Bell Weaponry

"AAAAAAAAH!" Tenten woke up to a pair of hands reaching across the counter that shook her diligently till her mind comprehended the real world. Yet her skin was paler than a ghost, and her breath ragged from the night and scream.

"What on earth could scare you?" Kakashi sympathetically asked.

"Something far worse than the attack by the Nine-Tails..." Tenten felt the accumulated bile of her entire being threatening to be expelled from the pits of her stomache...

XVX

At that moment, rooftop across Bell Weaponry

Was this the equivalent to watching the archaic Terra invention known as TV for someone like him? Probably.

Of course this brought to mind questions that Roderick held no answers to. For the past seven years the only things he did worthwhile, being good or evil being a moot point, were introduce weaponry to a planet not know, or at least cared for, by the Imperium and kidnap a child, playing host for a creature that he couldn't put a label to classify, to give said child a measure of defense and to leave behind a legacy of what Roderick once been. So far it was mixed results in the latter aspect... he certainly never had a trio of girls fighting over him in his youth...

"What am I suppose to do?" Even he knew that his earlier plans were veiled attempts to give him purpose, however short lived. For one reason or another he had taken to living in the shadows of a city of 'shinobi' and has yet to find a good enough reason to leave it. He occasionally stepped out of the darkness to harass the masked ones for entertainment and to give himself some sort of sport. Last but not least he had to be in the company of his 'executioner,' namely because she refused to leave the city to annoy its denizens, and him, for reasons he could barely fathom. He had no answer to his question.

Aside from giving the masked shinobi a chase, he only had one other activity to give him some form of challenge: tracking. "People watching" as Kira had taken to calling it...

Now a new, albeit temporary, question has arisen. "What has gotten Kakashi Hatake so upset?" he murmured to himself.

His answer soon arrived with the breaking of the weapon shop door, and the jonin behind the act bolted from the shop to the Hokage Tower, all the while screaming "Rapping must be banned!"

The ex-Vindicare could only blink at that.

XVX

Back at the 'hospital,' Land of Water

B shuddered violently as Naruto tried his best to stand up without crumpling into a heap. "S-something bad is going to happen," he said apprehensively.

XVX

Forest

"So which one is he?" a petite woman asked as a crow nuzzled her cheek.

"The one you been staring at before the other one showed up." The woman licked her lips as a devilish grin grew. The crow cawed before flying off into the darkness of the surrounding wood as a new pour of rain announced itself with a crack of thunder.

**A/N: A day late, sorry.**

**Not really much to say this time around. Take what you will and I hope you found this chapter satisfying.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 24: In the din, part 2

'General Hospital,' Kiri

Even in the bout of another storm, a raven landed on the heavily swaying branch overlooking the former hospital and cawed an unheard cry amidst the winds, thunder, and rain. It was exactly this combination of reasons that Naruto didn't deign to look up and through the window from his current seat of a abandoned hospital cart for patients as he tore apart a pump action shotgun to clean for the fifteenth time. At the it was the fifteenth time Hana had spotted him doing the deed since she had taken to following him for the past few days with Shikamaru held captive in the crook of her arm.

"Troublesome, why are you dragging me around while following Naruto again?" the Nara groaned from him spot from behind the hallway corner that was their current refuge from a casual glance. "Because one, I need him to talk and two, out of the two of us only you can outwit and catch him." The lazy chunin sighed. "Can't you talk to Zabuza?"

"He's scary..."

"Touché."

The blinding flash of lightning blinded the kunoichi to the hallway, but she didn't need clear vision to know the guaranteed result of the sudden crippling of her vision. "Damn it!" she growled, Naruto had escaped. Again.

XVX

Meanwhile, Hokage's office, Konoha

Chestnut eyes flicked back and forth between three different reports near simultaneously despite the protests of aching eyes and a growing migraine. In chronological order was the mission debriefing and notice of a delayed return from the team sent to the Land of Mists, Jiraiya's report of the latest Akatsuki incursion and possible duplicity in Kumo, and a medical report from the hospital.

All three were connecting in one way or another.

According to Jiraiya's report he had been chasing a lead for the past week, a man really who was either foolish or brilliant enough to boldly walk about in the Akatsuki's pattern but had sense enough to keep his face hidden under an orange psiral mask with one eye-hole. Regardless of whatever motivated this act of daring, this masked man first surfaced in the Land of Lightning before being pursued by the Toad Sannin in an effort to learn more of the organization. The man ended up only in a three day chase that circled the corners of the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Rice Fields, and the Land of Fire before losing him. By sheer luck while traveling through the Land of Fire, _presumably_ searching for the man he had lost at this point, he chanced upon his trail once again through eye witness testimony with the addition that he was in the company of a disgruntled man matching Kisame Hoshigaki's description. Both were heading for the coast.

The debriefing was enough to confirm what was stated, minus some flashy details of course. A Kumo team, acting under false orders handed by a imposter that managed to stay in the village long enough to pull out undetected, containing the host of the Two-Tails assaulted the team she sent to Mist and from there both Naruto and Yugito were abducted during the scuffle by the very man Jiraiya was chasing. Yet only one thing didn't add up; an irregularity that didn't make sense.

Who was currently in the Akatsuki and who they were partnered with had been recorded and catalogued. With that said, where was Burūmūn Uchiha in all this?

Her eyes drifted once more to the hospital report.

XVX

'General Hospital,' Kiri

What lights that were working or installed flickered with the rolling of thunder. The shaking of the very walls was enough to testify the magnitude of how close the bolt that created it was, yet despite the noise of the thunder and the gale of the storm, a trio of ravens as they lurked upon a branch in full view of the sole blond kunoichi that stared at them and they back. The elements weren't an issue to them.

Yugito's eyes flicked to the lights as they danced the disruptive dance of the storm before movement was caught in the corner of her eye. With an alert jerk of the head she learned she was alone in the hallway before turning back to the odd birds that captivated her view. They had disappeared long before her gaze returned to the branch they haunted.

The lights flickered once more before giving out.

XVX

Hokage's office, Konoha

"Patient hypothesized to never return to service," Tsunade murmured as she went over the details that was the injuries stated on the chart: a fractured leg with several shards of bone digging into the muscle, removed with precise surgical care though the damage was done. A severed arm, unfound. Several punctures to the chest belonging to kunai. A savaged ribcage saved only by a ripped flak jacket that could only withstand so much. A stab wound to the back...

XVX

'Hospital,' Kiri

Zanbato were drawn with the disturbances concealed by the shadows of the lightless hospital and the growls of shinobi class dogs permeated the air that grew thicker with a subtle malice that only served to taunt rather than intimidate, even the more inexperienced chunin of Konoha were able to tell that much.

Caws of the carrion bird quietly echoed down the hallways.

One by one in the darkness the neutral teams of separate villages banded together in different groups depending on their proximity: Zabuza, Durai, and the other Kumo agent that made up his squad in one. Yugio and B formed another. The chunin from Konoha banded together, their personal interests long abandoned with the growing clamor of the bird associated with ill-omens.

It wasn't the only noise to filter through the walls of the once house of healing, the cries of the carrion bird were accompanied by giggling. A woman's giggle. An incessant giggle. A _giddy_ giggling...

The lights have yet to be revived...

XVX

Hokage's office, Konoha

"Current status: Comatose."

Donning her robe, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha made it halfway across her office when someone knocked upon her door. "Enter!"

The door swung open to reveal the head of the Yamanaka Clan, Inoichi Yamanaka, at the doorway with a slightly perturbed hand on the door itself yet he said nothing.

You're earlier than expected," Tsunade commented as she walked by, Inoichi following behind obediently without word save for a question. "What do you have need for me, Lady Hokage?"

"An injured kunoichi with connections with the Akatsuki had been chanced upon by a returning Anbu squad. Unfortunately she seemed to have an altercation that had left her seriously wounded and crippled for life regardless of prosthetics, she's now lying on a bed in a secured section of the hospital in a comatose state. We have no way of telling if she will wake up or not and even if she did there are pressing circumstances that require more immediate answers."

"I see." Lips were sealed as they past more crowded hallways and even rooms, namely the reception area. They both vanished in a shunshin of leaves, only to reappear at the back of the hospital and in front of a pair of Anbu guarding one of many doors leading to the interior.

XVX

'Hospital,' Kiri

The giggling continued on a more sinister note for all who could hear. The call of the crow had died out in favor of the feminine giggle and the malice that continued to taunt the sight impaired shinobi.

Cautious steps padded through the darkened corridors, only illuminated by the flashes of lightning that snapped through the windows and slipped past whatever obstacle that did little to contain the light other than cast a silhouette. Everything imaginable was feature as nothing but a blot of what the light would dare show: tables, chairs, carts, gurneys, and even the birds that tormented then beforehand. With the end of each flash and the recasting of it, where they had perched they had abandoned with only the deaf flutter of wings to tell they were there.

Their departure always came with a response.

"Come along, we won't bite." A giggle always followed; it was always taunting their wills.

"Man this blows," Shikamaru mumbled as he continued to walk in a crouch in a sandwich between Hana and Naruto, the first in the lead and the other guarding the rear.

"You don't see us complaining," Hana growled as she pressed onward in the same crouch-walk as her subordinate with a kunai and a pistol in hand. Ten-Millimeter with an extended magazine. Naruto wielded a pump action shotgun while Shikamaru only carried standard kunai.

Their plan was as simple as it could get under the conditions set against them, and they could only hope their comrades, despite of being from different villages, had the same idea in mind: regroup. It was an unsaid agreement amongst the three of them. Vision was limited, what night vision they could muster from the natural process of the eye or even from technological expertise was painfully offset by the lightning. Their enemy was an unknown in terms of skill, ability, and power; all that could be garnered was that either the hidden assailant was arrogantly confident or an opportunist awaiting a viable chance to strike, in either case there was something akin to a plan made evident with the now dead lights. Then there were the birds... their purpose could only be guessed at.

XVX

"Demon, demon of the mist. Could it be your name is amiss?" Zabuza stifled a growl as he continued to lurk in the halls with nothing but a kunai for his armament, his zanbato had been holstered for him to lurk in the blackened hallways. His comrades of the temporary sort had taken to the same tactic given that size in tight quarters was a greater detriment than an advantage between size and length.

Regardless, they moved with their own objectives in mind: regroup and/or eliminate the threat. Of course questions were raised amongst them. Was this person acting alone, or part of a group? Are they dealing with a rogue kunoichi, most likely from Kiri itself, or an official assassin under commands from Kiri?

Each however knew these questions were moot for the time being until the current threat was resolved and whatever answers to come were laid bare.

XVX

"Yo Nii, what do you see?" Under any other circumstance, Yugito would've flinched in annoyance. Being in a battlefield, no matter how unexpected, had a way to change one's personality enough to ignore what would otherwise be distracting. Unfortunately it had been proven on more than one occasion that B exhibited none of these changes on a noticeable scale, made evident by multiple accusations towards be the distraction to begin with.

"Nothing but crows," she lowly whispered in reply. The only inconvenience she suffered at this point was when the lightning illuminated the darkness of a storm covered world.

XVX

"You're taking too much time." A woman sitting in the shadows of but one of the many abandoned hospital rooms only smiled in return as she fingered a ring that yet to adorn her finger. Her only companion, other than a crow which perched on the woman's shoulder, leaned against the wall holding back an agitated growl.

"I take it you don't take the time to enjoy the little things of life."

"The last time I did that, I was forced to retreat." The woman's smile, though cloaked in darkness, failed to falter as her right ring finger flirted with the only opening of the piece of jewelry, a flash of lightning revealing its band red and bearing the kanji for crimson.

XVX

Intensive Care Unit, Konoha hospital

Tsunade, nor the commander of the Anbu, didn't need to look past her shoulder to learn of the new arrival walked into the observation booth with a heavily measured step that spoke of mixed emotion. Her eyes were trained on the current work of Inoichi Yamanaka just beyond the glass barrier who was in the company of three members of the Anbu.

"So that's the... woman Danzo coerced is it?" The voice of Mikoto Uchiha was restrained and heavy, unsure of what to think even after given time to sort out her feelings beforehand. "Yes."

Mikoto paid almost no heed to the commander's reply as she joined them to watch an Anbu member wipe Inoichi's brow clean of sweat while the later gritted his teeth in focus with his hand on the comatose patient; the injured and crippled Burūmūn Uchiha.

Only two injuries were present and lacked a means to conceal them properly after the cleanup, an ugly bruise of a deep purple setting that covered her left eye and cheek as well as her now missing right arm.

"Tell me Mikoto," the Hokage started, her name alone sufficient in claiming the clan head's attention. "Should Burūmūn ever walks outside as free as a bird, what do you plan to do?"

The clan head shook in jolted shock before returning her gaze to the shinobi on the other side. "While I will not deny the necessity of preventing a rebellion... is she really to walk out on what she had done to my clan?" she asked in the same reserved manner as before.

"Like it or not, she has been providing information where she can about the Akatsuki. Not to mention she did not do what she did for a petty grudge."

Mikoto gave no reply as she silently watch Inoichi relieve his hand from the other Uchiha's head and hunched over to gasp for fresh air. The commander of the Anbu stepped forward to press on an outlying intercom connecting the two rooms together. No words were given on his part to grab the attention of the team before him, Inoichi merely shook his head as he rubbed his wrist before placing it back on the woman's head and closing his eyes.

Only the head of the Yamanaka clan was able to hear a deadly greeting meant for another's ear, though the back of his mind burned with a sense of familiarity that was his own. "Hello Uchiha..."

**A/N: Sorry for the late entry and for the short chapter, I have no real reason other than excuses at hand save for one which I will not discuss as of yet.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	25. Chapter 25

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 25: In the din, part 3

_(Flashback!)_

Forested Road, Land of Hot Water

"Hello Uchiha..."

With a swift jerk of the head, Burūmūn Uchiha sent an assertive, quizzical but stern stare toward Tobi from her spot on the road to his own on an outlying tree limb. "Tobi," she acknowledged curtly while her partner came to a stop at her left. On a mental level, the eyes of the Uchiha narrowed in suspicion. He did not announce his presence much like he had in their original... meeting.

No one dared to move other than Tobi as he brought both hands behind him and held them there in the clasping of both palms. He even tilted his head towards the side bearing the eye-hole. "You know, I've been thinking allot lately concerning some issues that have been raised."

"And those issues might be?" The eyes of the Uchiha narrowed in real life. Had she been implicated by Zetsu? If she had slipped up somewhere then it was most likely been detected by the sneaky bi-colored man with an ensemble of a enlarged Venus Flytrap with the only regular cloth on him being the Akatsuki cloak. If not him however, despite his abilities as a scout, sensor, and overall spy then it was either Kisame for being in her presence for so long and he managed to have either witnessed or exploited a chink in her guard, or Kakuzu with his own information network, even though it catered to the life of a bounty hunter rather than a spy, that he had crafted over the years since... defecting from Taki.

Of course 'Tobi' was a wildcard altogether given his more recent joining of the Akatsuki; his skills and specialties have yet to be broadcasted or rumored.

"Namely how the _entire_ roster of current Akatsuki members ended up in the files, documentation, and bingo books of Konoha really."

"Come again?" Kisame queried harshly. Burūmūn for her part only remained silent as she kept her gaze on the man as he twisted his head back to its natural setting and hummed in thought loudly enough for her to hear. If she were to guess, then she would not only guess but imagine the unseen mouth of the man become some kind of twisted grin of events to come.

"I'll admit, I was a bit shocked to learn of this. I even pondered how it came to be known so quickly in just one village when only two, specifically you two, were the only ones to date that have entered a village and was spotted." A chuckle emanated behind the mask as the man rose up from the branch with the use of raising his feet in a tip-toe fashion only to bring it down again, a probable expenditure of excited energy on his part under the conclusion of Burūmūn 's sobering mind. "As you can imagine, I bothered to investigate this shocking bit of news." The kunoichi's imagination kicked in once more as she imagined the masked man was leering at her in the same fashion as the grin she could not see, if either existed to begin with...

"It took some doing, entering a village unseen, undetected, let alone finding the right people to ask the right questions; security really tightened in Konoha between that warehouse full of chunin were roasted alive, Danzo's death, and Orochimaru's invasion that I unfortunately had not the luxury to kill off anyone who gave me a suspicious eye least I draw more than unwanted attention to myself." The man's gaze lifted off of her and found itself looking at the sky in a contemplative fashion, during which the Uchiha finally faced the man more directly from her spot. "Was a bit of a rush really, and it was so nice to see some familiar faces when they had no clue to my presence."

"During my little hunt for the truth behind this debacle, I developed a bit of a theory. You see, there was only one reasonable suspect who could garner as much information as Konoha had and slip by without notice and that would be Jiraiya, a man well versed in espionage and learning secrets people try to hide without potentially lethal force. Yet something bothered me regarding that idea." Without looking, he held up a finger. "I know for a fact that even amongst his friends, the man keeps and guards secrets to the point that you would even wonder if he's even on your side and not on the enemy's. I would even dare say he would give them a rather vague report to which he only gave in hopes to draw someone out..."

A second finger rose to join the first while keeping its distance by a slim margin. "The records on  
us, minus myself of course for obvious reasons, were too accurate to be that old codger's work." His head suddenly snapped down with such speed that both shinobi flinched instinctively to a more defensive pose. "By the way Kisame, what would you like for a birthday gift on March eighteenth?" The larger man snarled indignantly, yet did nothing as the masked one returned to the cloud gazing that was his past time but moments before. "With Jiraiya's habits, I was forced to eliminate him as a suspect but it did enlighten me as to how that info got there... so I did some more digging, though not through Konoha's more legal records however..."

By the narrowest of fractions, the Uchiha's eyes narrowed as the man continued his monologue with almost nonexistent attention spared on the duo beneath him. "It too took some doing as well given that conniving wretch of an old man went through great lengths to hide his crimes and notes but it was worth it to... learn the truth as it were."

The man's gaze slowly, deliberately, coldly returned to the duo below with his sights set on Burūmūn; a third finger ominously rose. "After all it makes sense when you stop and think about it: all information comes from a source- a torn note, a overheard discussion... or the quavering lips of a _pretend_ mother of a certain bijuu container."

No prompting, at least further motivation, was needed to have Kisame swipe at his 'partner' with his free hand while he reached for his bandaged sword, during which the kunoichi ducked, fished out a kunai, and sliced at the swordsman's leg before retreating into the surrounding wood to get away from the pair.

In her flight, covered by the disrupted brush around her, clones were formed with the molding of hand signs to create them from the earth and left to either stall her more than likely pursuers or better yet mislead them.

"When I first learned that Danzo had enlisted your support," Tobi's voice echoed clearly throughout the wood, startling even the fleeing Uchiha into stopping to gain her bearings, "I immediately pegged you as weak." A hand clenched at the insult, yet no snarl or comeback arose from the spark of anger. "It's almost child's play for someone like him to take advantage of an outsider... a _freak_ like you. But let's face it, you're damaged goods. Shunned by your own clan, set fire to your own teammate, and lived like the outcast you are, how in anyway could you provide a challenge to him when he pressed the right buttons and given you a 'path of redemption'?" A slight clenching of the teeth soon joined her balled fist in mounting frustration as she resumed her flight with a more wary, sharingan enhanced eye on alert for the slightest hint of an ambush.

"Of course my original assumptions as to why you did it, why you failed to kill off every single wretched member of your clan, were dashed the further I dug in. To think, a nobody like you who locked herself away from the world kept something even more foul for company," he admonished with a sneer from wherever he lurked. "You are aware that people like him are nothing more than tools; a means to a greater end?" Once more the unique Uchiha stopped with eyes clenched such yet trembling all the same.

"While I may not agree word for word with Danzo before or after his death," he continued, "but that boy's purpose in life has been preordained the second he was born and given the bijuu. His life serves nothing more than to further the designs of others." Both eyes flew open to reveal a trio of stubby wings with a serrated edge to them...

_(End Flashback!)_

XVX

'General Hospital,' Kiri

_Cling!_

Three swords met one in a brief clash of wills before the bandaged blade slide off to find more fleshed prey in the form of Yuhito Nii attempting to slay the wielder of Samehada from behind. A nearby windowpane shattered from an unseen force and subsequently the downpour from outside flooded into the hallway followed shortly by another Kisame bearing a bloodthirsty grin as the first one.

XVX

At a nurse's station, Darui and Zabuza stood back to back while the third of their party had yet to reappear from his abduction.

"Pity, is this the best an ex-Mist shinobi can offer? I already learned how pathetic the Cloud shinobi are but still, no one has the guts to face me?" a figure taunted from the shadows. "Perhaps you need a reason then..." Both shinobi parted ways to avoid having a corpse slammed into them.

XVX

In the equivalent to a lobby room minus a door leading to the world beyond, the trio of chunnin stood back-to-back as a wall of raucous ravens encircled them with only the occasional crack of lightning to prove their existence as far as the eye was concerned.

Digging into a strapped on pouch, an armored hand retrieved a grenade robbed of its safety pin by a slight of hand. The destructive device soon left its owner's hand in a sharp toss to the floor, soon lost behind a wave of feathers and a sharper cacophony of startled cries.

_BOOM!_

Any shrapnel loaded into the explosive or was created by the sudden destruction of otherwise already ruined property were blocked by the swarm of carrion birds who have suffered in their place as made evident when over a dozen dropped into bloodied heaps, their comrades flew away in panic with manic cries of distress.

_"YOU WRETCHES!"_ a woman shrieked in the darkness. The furious cry was accompanied another one altogether of a sharper pitch... an awfully familiar pitch to Hana.

Without thought or warning, the leader of the chunin took off in a mad dash followed closely by the scowling bandana wearer and a partially surprised yet serious Nara.

XVX

Outside

Even in the dismal conditions that was the working of mother nature, those familiar with the former hospital and one time base could already make out the distinct signs of battle from outside. An exploding wall certainly gave omen to a fight of growing intensity.

"Go warn the Mizukage!"

"Yes sir!"

XVX

_(Flashback!)_

Cave, Land of Hot Water

The only portal to her current hideout was eyed more warily than a farmer regarding the crops to come. Her one and only engagement with Tobi ended with nothing but kunai digging into her chest, five in all. Five blades to which she slowly dug out as she sat in the back of the cave.

Kisame had yet to appear, though whether or not he was in hiding or genuinely lost due to the mud clones meant little as either meant he would eventually show himself. A ordinary kunai attacking a guarded shin ultimately meant nothing towards crippling someone after all.

Burūmūn sucked in a quick breath and hissed in silence as she yanked the last kunai from the robe covered flak jacket that guarded her, yet it alongside its lookalikes bore the crimson of her blood along the first inch of its blade. "Damn it," she cursed quietly. It all happened in a flash even with hermangekyō sharingan active, the only movement she had caught the man performing was a toss of the hand in her direction from a branch she had intended to land on before he vanished to leave her at the mercy of the kunai.

_Whistle._

Horror stricken eyes snapped to the ceiling of her hideout to find the masked intruder cheekily waving at her, yet the real threat, as her ear learned, wasn't from him. The rumbling and cracking of stone was her only warning before a familiar bandaged blade slammed into her vulnerable side.

_"Shit!"_

_(End Flashback!)_

XVX

Mizukage's office, Mizukage Tower, Kiri

"Now would you care to explain yourself as you _why_ you were found in the women's side of the hot springs?" A nervous chuckle permeated the air as a certain man in kabuki clothing with white hair rubbed his mane as a nervous discharge of energy.

"Oh nothing, I was simply taking a stroll nearby when I heard a woman shriek..."

"Mmm hmm... And the camera?"

A pause ensued between Jiraiya and the auburn haired woman, her hair was pulled back by a blue ribbon that permitted a small ball of her hair yet its entire length spilt past and behind her shoulders save for a pair of bangs that met beneath the hollow of her neck while a shorter set framed her face with a single bang curling beneath her eye, garbed in a silken blue dress with a small band of fishnet bordering the top that stopped short of her bare shoulders. "I brought it to take pictorial evidence of any at all attackers?"

A twitch flashed at the corner of her mouth.

"Lady Mizukage!" a shinobi bellowed in urgency the moment she thrown the doors. "There's fighting in the old base my lady!"

Two sets of eyes widened, and their respective owners all but charged out of their seats.


	26. Chapter 26

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 26: End of the din

'General Hospital,' Kiri

Humiliation.

Humiliation and shame at most, that was what Zabuza felt when his zanbato was _sliced_ in half by a kunai turned into a makeshift sword by the evident molding wind chakra. And to make matters worse, the masked bastard wasn't even paying attention to him as he tilted his head towards Kiri and growled a low growl. A single hand snapped in front of the masked Akatsuki member, his hand letting the enhanced kunai go for but a second, before a cloud of smoke obscured the jonin's view to which he stepped back defensively. From behind, the hallway was washed in a brilliantly light, as opposed to the usual method that consisted of the lightning that raged outside, as Darui had fielded a halo of brilliant lightning chakra in front of him. From the other side, the smoke dispersed as the masked shinobi charged at them armed with the now slightly diminished, in size, altered kunai after snatching it from its free fall.

"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"

Whether it had hit the Akatsuki member or not, neither could see beyond the blinding light as a multitude of lightning beams twisted past, flexed around themselves, and tore their way through the hallway and apparatuses of what was once a hospital.

XVX

It was almost like fighting an enraged cat with the presence of mind to keep switching unless she wished to face the combined might of three chunin. How she was doing it was beyond them, but it would certainly explain why this room seemed especially prepared for them with all the desks, chairs, and miscellaneous objects shoved to the wall nearest to where they once rested; the crows, with unprecedented agility and sense of spacing, twisted their flocks into living twisters that dispersed to let loose a snarling, mad eyed woman of short stature lash out at them before being enveloped by the surging flock only to appear elsewhere to attack.

Grenades sent to disperse her aviary only served to worsen her already deplorable mood.

The only victims to date where nonhuman in nature... on both sides of the fight.

XVX

The floor gave way and its rubble pelted the ceiling only to return to belt the usurper of its purpose, he didn't care. B, thoroughly drenched, climbed out of the rushing waters that now dominated the hallway he climbed out of and dove a hand back into the torrential mass the second he found his footing. Yugito, coughing out the collective fluids often associated with giving life, soon joined him as the former yanked her out of the improvised river.

Yet there peace was short lived.

_CRASH!_

Both heads swiveled towards the source and took off upon finding a bandaged weapon ripping through the ground in hot pursuit of the containers.

XVX

Outside

"Earth Release: Dark Swamp!"

The advance of Tobi turned into a leaping retreat as the terrain between him and Jiraiya became murkier than what it should have been in the midst of a storm. The only eye visible to the man narrowed viciously as Tobi retaliated in kind.

"Earth Release: Grave Retribution!" Spikes tore up the already miserable ground, though not at the Toad Sage or the thoroughly muddy ground between them. Anbu from the Mist Village, taking advantage of the initial distraction, found themselves scattering as jagged spikes from a brutal mishmash of rock and dirt sought to impale them with some success in either the intended act or in harming them to the point of being crippled if not wounded.

The sight of a brilliantly burning globule from his right was warning enough for him to leap back to avoid being incinerated by a mass of lava.

A glance dignified him to the presence of the current Mizukage. His hand clenched as the other withdrew a kunai for defense.

XVX

Inside

"I don't sense him..." Zabubza murmured as he carefully advanced with the shinobi of Kumo not too far behind.

"It might have been a clone," Durai offered lowly.

Whatever response the Demon of the Mist had was toss aside with the dull roar of "Now!" followed shortly with a more pronounced explosion and the banshee-like scream of a woman. Neither needed to glance at each other for a unspoken message to get through to them.

XVX

Less than a minute ago

From the existing store of ammo, as far as grenades went, there was only a total of five left consisting of flashbang grenades and fragmentation grenades whereas bullets were near limitless. Unfortunately the number of the carrions birds seemed to be as unlimited as the ammunition that sought to diminish their number. Yet admits the current chaos, a keen mind noticed a pattern to the attacks: Starting from the very first attack, the kunoichi attacked within arm's length of them before disappearing to attack from afar; her only deviation was that the third time of each attack, starting from the very first attack, she switched the succession with either a ranged attack such as a kunai throw or jutsu or another melee strike accordingly.

All they needed to do was wait for the right moment...

"NOW!"

In a gamble, the remaining store of explosives were expended to throw her off her game if nothing else as she was about to attack once more. Crows cried out in panic and confusion as they scattered and slammed into each other to avoid being impaled by shrapnel or receive a fatal concussion. It was to this mass panic that the assailant of the chunin squad stumbled into in a shocked dazed that left her wide open to a vengeful Inuzuka.

The woman crumbled underneath the Leaf kunoichi, unable to defend herself from a kunai seeking her skull as its new holster.

It wasn't deterred when something far behind Hana _shrieked_ an awful, ear piercing shriek that destroyed her eardrums and induced immediate bleeding. Her clutching of her ears in a late defense, alongside the instinctual clenching of her eyes in pain, kept her from noticing the Crow Woman dissipating into a cloud of smoke that left the kunai behind.

Naruto, meanwhile, spun in place bearing a heavy grimace of pain with both eyes nearly shut out of reflex. An armored hand rose up in instinct to the flash of something metallic shine through the dim lighting afforded by a crack of lightning whose thunder rumbled lowly while his other hand, still armed with the shotgun, was leveled haphazardly in the same direction.

The offender's reach was far greater than anticipated, and in vengeful return the close quarter weapon went off; both were tossed away from the other with a brief cry of anguish, with Naruto in a spin given the improper mounting and recoil as he clutched his injured face.

XVX

The two rooms meant for patients were converted into a watery battlefield that left only the top half of the two an air pocket in comparison to its underwater counterpart.

It was precisely this type of environment, however artificial it truly was, that gave Kisame the edge he needed as his eight-tail containing opponent struggled to defend himself in while his partner had scampered off. His vicious grin turned ever more bloodthirsty as he prepared a strike a finishing blow to an injured shinobi that glared at him from underneath his shades.

With a sudden influx of bubbles that caught both of their attention, Kisame's grin curious in nature upon sighting the two-tails container who returned it with her own smug grin as she wrapped her arms around her astounded comrade, used her own momentum to drive herself down, and propel herself to breaking through the surface in a ground cracking stomp. The grin turned into a snarl on Kisame's part as he learned she didn't come back alone as the disruptive ripples failed to blind Kisame's sight...

Anbu from Kiri... tossing kunai into the water to find anchorage on the floor, laced with a string of shinobi wire running from the ringed handle of the knives.

Rather than learn what they had planned, and he had a good idea as to what it was, Kisame's attention switched to the spot that Yugito damaged in her escape with her fellow container and formed a single hand sign while his chakra surged through his systems.

Near instantly, a vortex churned the collective of converted rainwater that ripped into the walls as best it could, yet the wire remained unscathed while the Anbu proceeded unhindered in the task of forming hand seals. Forcing more chakra into the mix, the central point of the whirlpool drove into the floor and bore its way through and beyond. Lightning, given power by the Anbu, traveled down the wires into a rapidly depleting pool as the vortex shrunk as its medium slipped through the gap and took everything that wasn't nailed down to the floor with it, including Kisame Hoshigaki.

Wasting not a moment to even consider they would pursue him or not, the man with shark-like features fled with Samehada resting on his shoulder even as he jumped out a window... where a masked shinobi looked up at him expectedly from below.

XVX

Lobby

"Has he been found yet?!"

"Not yet Lady Mizukage!" an Anbu hastily replied as he kneeled and bowed his head les he incurred her wrath. He drew out a relieved sigh as his Mizukage, Mei Terumi, contented herself with a huff as her narrowed glare turned to the depths of the former hospital to where another member of the Anbu came rushing towards her with an ally following closely behind.

"Only one casualty to report, Lady Mizukage!" he snapped off with a respectful salute.

"One injured but not critical, my Lady!" the second one, a woman this time, reported.

The auburn haired Kage turned to a third Anbu member that rushed to her. "Some injuries but nothing critical, ma'am! Kisame Hoshigaki however was spooted, and a squad is in pursuit of him as we speak!"

All gave a nervous jump in their spots as the air became palpable with the desire for murder on Mei's part. "Reinforce them, NOW!"

"YES MA'AM!" All four bodies flickered into nonexistence, leaving the woman to chew on her thumbnail in frustration.

An Akatsuki attack here of all places? Bold, _too_ bold for her liking. Were they hoping that this sudden attack would catch the Leaf and Cloud teams off guard with a surprise attack given their recent failure in the Land of Mists? Perhaps they were also factoring in that they would be too shocked to respond to the second attack given that Kiri and Konoha were allies, thus making even the island her village inhabited a 'safe zone' as it were even with the hospitals more isolated standing? Possibly.

Then there was the Akatsuki members in... question. As far as she had learned, the masked member was fluent in the way of seals to the point where he made traps out of them. Then there was Kisame...

Zabuza she could tolerate, else she risked spitting in the face of Kushina Uzumaki by proxy in terms of Kiri's alliance, but Kisame was another matter altogether; Kisame was free game... and it only spoke of arrogance and a standing challenge to the her village that he would dare tread upon grounds that belonged to his former home.

"Tsk." She snapped her head to her right as her mind slowly put out baleful flames that danced in her mind; she'd have to let the Anbu do their job, there were more important things to consider at the moment: Tending to the dead, ensuring the the safety of allied and foreign shinobi alike, and to let Konoha learn of the bold actions the Akatsuki will partake in for example...

XVX

Hokage Office, Hokage Tower, Konoha, fourteen days later

"The world sure has changed," Tsunade murmured to herself as she personally reviewed a medical journal. Guns and their variations played no part in her mind as her eyes lingered on the sketching of a grinning skull in various positions sporting a monocle-like device in an eye socket.

"Cybernetic body parts for the shinobi on the go!" She supposed it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. With the sudden introduction of firearms in the world, everyone with the intelligence to do so began to experiment with them in field tests to making more dangerous models of preexisting designs. It was simply a question of when a shinobi puppeteer began to integrate these armaments into their creations from that point; puppeteers were after all the source, in concept at least, of replacement limbs for crippled shinobi missing an arm or leg. From wooden limbs powered by chakra and the control necessary for it, practitioners in medicine began to create more synthetic means to get a shinobi back on his/her feet, quite literally in some cases, through arduous labor into replicating limbs to replace the freshly lost ones. Now more mechanical limbs were on the rise where arms were replaced with arms with a built in flamethrower or small missile launcher powered by the connection of the mind rather than a connection one's chakra.

Then someone took that idea of replacing limbs to a partially more disturbing degree, though helpful all the same: Internal organs, teeth, eyeballs... things that would require an organic donor, for the most part, to replace could now be returned by a mechanical substitute. At least that was the idea. The whole field was still in the gray when health hazards were involved, intense surgery that was guaranteed to be a part of it, and the concerns of medical professionals voicing doubts to the substitute's ability to function as efficiently as the original given its inorganic state and what it entailed... not to mention that if something went wrong after the surgery, there would be little warning as to a failure on the mechanical organ's part if and/or when it malfunctions.

Luckily that was not an issue Tsunade had to be concerned about... at least it would bear such fatal consequences should everything go wrong. The cybernetic eye, a blockish ocular device for the time being as it was still being developed, bore the least amount of consequences over being... for the lack of a better word, installed into the now useless left socket of Naruto Uzumaki.

It was almost funny in a admittedly ghoulish fashion for the Hokage to watch Kushina Namikaze take to the news of Naruto's injury with the same grace of a frightened bull in a china shop. That same morbid part of her almost threatened to take Tsunade over to howl with laughter upon learning that the chunin had only doubled his efforts into avoiding his biological mother sometime after she, Kushina, had virtually tore the doors of the Hokage office down as she raced to the hospital.

His adoptive mother however didn't hold such misfortune after she had awakened...

The Fifth Hokage blew a gentle sigh as she averted her eyes to gaze upon suggested to demanded protocols from the Anbu and various jonin as they tried to devise some plot to prevent another undeniable infiltration in their ranks; the pit of her stomach only felt sicker as her mind flirted with the idea this character known as Tobi may have impersonated the Raikage _inside_ a _shinobi_ village... From the report written by Inoichi, this persona held some allegiance to Konoha in the past, though it wasn't clear what kind. Unfortunately chances were that he was, at one point in time, he was a shinobi from this very village... it made the most sense, how else could he slip in and out without detection?

Of course there was the implication he impersonated the Raikage, much to the real Raikage's boiling fury if she had to guess his current mood at the moment. He had to be just as familiar, or at least extremely cautious, with their own regulations and patrols as he was with Konoha's in order to accomplish what he had set out to do.

With a groan, she all but bore into her own skull by rubbing her temples to relieve the stress.

"Who is this guy?" she seethed.

XVX

Street corner

"Why are we doing this again?" Hana growled.

"Because you're mother wants you out of the house, this is the only thing I can think of when she threatened to reveal my location, and you're a good throw able shield in the event Lady Namikaze spots me and gives chase." He restrained a pained grunt when a mean jab half heartedly tried to break his humor in a single punch. "What is your problem with that woman anyway?" Hana growled once more.

"Target's on the move." A drawn out groan of frustration escaped the Inuzuka as she followed the younger chunin into a nearby set of bushes as they continued to stalk the shadow of Asuma Sarutobi at the behest of Anko and by proxy Kurenai for the raising suspicion that he was cheating on her.

Not in any form glorious, or respectable, in the career of a shinobi to follow another regarding another's love life... but it beats chasing a cat with a mean learning curve as several genin unfortunately learned.

"Hm?" A cigarette lazily rolled through the bearded jonin's mouth as he shrugged and resumed his trek into a jewelry shop.

From the leafy cover of the bushes, a pair of goggles were drawn over the single eye the chunin still had, his usual placement of the bandana and headband having switched with the latter converted to the bandana's original use only with a tilt to cover the damaged eye. "I really should consider getting some kind of listening device," he mumbled as a counter to the exasperated sigh from Hana.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" With a small twitch, Hana looked behind to find Kakashi standing behind them with one of his preferred books in hand. A glance to her side revealed that, if anything, Naruto only ignored him in favor of spying on Asuma.

"If you're asking about him, good luck trying to convince him," Hana replied lowly as she turned a annoyed taciturn eye towards the jonin in the store as he received a package from a clerk. Her annoyed gaze returned to the silvery haired man as he too crouched behind them to gain an idea as to their activity.

"Is there a reason you're following Asuma?" he lazily drawled as his own lone eye slowly turned to his book.

"Anko's request." A low, accepting hum left the jonin as he turned a page, effectively ignoring the world around him. He didn't give either of them a parting glance till they left to pursue the first jonin when he left the store.

"Meh..." He turned a page at his leisure. "It can wait..." he mumbled before returning to his book... only to close it, pocket it, and eventually walk away as his own spit turned vile in embittered taste. He shook his head as he let loose a weary sigh, all the while a hand rose up and gently caressed the eye that was always hidden under the headband. "It would be almost funny if he was my student," he quietly muttered.


	27. Chapter 27

**I own not a right to anything, primarily to Warhammer or Naruto, or anything else for that matter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes not profit or anything else, so please do not sue me. Or maim. Or anything in between.**

**As a precaution, this is rated Mature. Felt I should remind people of that in the event they forget.**

**Note: There are bound to be made up jutsus. Please do not complain.**

Assassin

Chapter 27: A temporary end

Mikoto Uchiha's home, Konoha

_(Flashback!)_

Eight days ago

The Uchiha matriarch rigidly stared back at the Hokage.

"While circumstances about her are sketchy at best that my clan is _slowly_ coming to terms with, I'm afraid I cannot agree with your request Lady Hokage." The woman across from her slowly crossed her arms underneath her bust with a pointed frown. "May I ask as to why you can't?" Tsunade finally asked after a moment of silence.

"Let us say my clan is not fond of granting the power of our dojutsu lightly no matter the reason," Mikoto calmly replied.

"With the Akatsuki attempting to the destroy the world as we know it, I believe that this isn't a "light" issue by any stretch of the imagination," Tsunade countered.

The matriarch nodded, though a frown tinged her lips. "Be that as it may, given what Danzo did, my clan is already uneasy as it is and your request would only exacerbate the situation as it stands."

Tsunade calmly closed her eyes, blew a breathless sigh, and relented with reluctance on her part. "I'm sorry for disturbing you then," she uttered in a bow. It was returned, and still given, when the Hokage left the premises at her own volition.

_(End Flashback!)_

At her kitchen table, the current head of the Uchiha clan remedied a small ache inside her as she stared at a picture of her family when all was well and good. "Sasuke was so cute back then," she half hearted cooed as her fingers gently caressed her son, a newborn when the picture was taken, as he was depicted in her arms in the picture back then.

She didn't need to look around to remind herself her house was empty. Her husband... died. Her oldest son moved out some years ago and only came to visit every couple of weeks when he had the time both before and after leaving the Anbu. And her youngest... moved out as well when his mood only worsened to violent degrees since the sealing of his chakra networks. He now lived in a lone apartment complex under surveillance from the police department as he slowly became a regular at Inoichi's clinic under court order.

The only consolation Mikoto ever found in Sasuke's situation was that if he remained a shinobi, he was far less likely to be given anything paramount to a courtesy if he shoved into the shinobi only prison or worse...

But that didn't really stop the damnable oppression she felt in her own home that was only alleviated with the visits from others.

She smirked derisively at herself as her eye caught her own reflection. This was probably the chief reason Kushina visited her as often as she could when it became increasingly obvious that he was avoiding her where he can. Did he know he was torturing her so? Probably...

But compared to another, she was a complete stranger to him who was related to someone who wronged him. It was borderline ironic at worse given his own circumstance as a bijuu host.

She took a small sip from her cup.

With her mind left only to wander nowadays, it wasn't hard for her mind to pursue a new topic of interest. Even if it stemmed from the most recent issue involving her family, even if it was more by name than blood.

As a former shinobi herself, or more accurately kunoichi by right of gender, she could see the tactical advantage of granting Naruto a sharingan eye much like Kakashi Hatake has. Yet since the discovery of their defiled dead, unable to be kept secret in a proper sense, what would be a abnormal, off-putting request at such a time would easily be misinterpreted as something akin to a reboot of what Danzo attempted to do while in league with Orochimaru. She could make light on the situation with the Akatsuki, true, but the paranoid nature of some members of her clan may find that as an excuse rather than a reason.

But that was for a general request for a donor. A willing donor could negate that issue altogether while taking the brunt of whatever criticism and outrage that was to crop up whereas she could freely try to keep the peace with reduced chances of a revolt... that may end in another massacre of her kin.

And a willing donor had been found, probably by the same source who provided the idea-...

No.

If anything, Kakashi was more likely to be innocent to this than to the suspicions she had of him being the originator of Tsunade's request some time ago when the team sent to the Land of Mists finally returned with the son of Minato and Kushina sporting a defunct eye from the last skirmish they had. Given her learning of her own crippled status, it was only a matter of time before she'd think of a means to protect someone dear to her.

Her eyes remained glued to her youngest son, forever frozen in time till whatever reckoning befell upon it, as she pondered to herself in her quiet home. "Burūmūn Uchiha, we're not that different are we?"

XVX

Waiting Room, Konoha Hospital

As lazily as he turned the page of his prefer booked, his eye with equal passion looked about the room. His eye first drifted to the windows to ensure they were closed properly. They were, but Might Guy's voice surprised him enough times to at least be wary... Then his eye drifted to the only other occupants of the waiting room awaiting news from the operating room.

Kushina Namikaze wasn't much of a surprise to be found here between those who knew the unspoken truth that lay between her and Naruto, and those who spent enough time with either to learn of some manner of chase happening between them.

Hinata Hyuga, not too surprising that one of the "girlfriends" Naruto had would show up upon hearing he was going into surgery regarding his now useless eye. Unfortunately, probably caused by her presence alone if not the facts that floated about, this also meant the other two had arrived and thus awaited whatever news there was to come. As it stood, Hinata had been locked in a harsh staring contest with Tenten Bell who had came back from a team mission not too long ago, and the news of Naruto's operation which in turn didn't give her a chance to change her attire of something oddly reminiscent to what Naruto wore on missions with matching goggles to boot. As for Haku... she contented herself with a magazine. A little odd for her not to join in but whatever kept the potential damage minimal was welcomed by _all_.

Itachi Uchiha... Kakashi only had a lucid hypothesis as to why he was here during what could be considered a slow day as far as missions went. In any event, either one of them would most likely be involved with the blond once everything was said and successfully done.

Last but not least was the Queen of Vengeance herself, alongside Kurenai for support, who had been eying Kushina with a weathered stern eye since coming here. Every now and then, the snake user's gaze was met by her target in a half hearted glare before breaking off.

With no new visitors to give him a distraction from his book, he contented himself with reading the next paragraph.

Then the windows started rattling, an act which instantly drew his attention and brought his book protectively to his chest.

XVX

Southern gate

A year. That was the projected time it would take, under the best of circumstances with a mild margin of error, for Naruto to get use to the adjustment of a sharingan eye. Courtesy of Burūmūn. Other than a half mumbled wish of being well, he had nothing to say.

The same could almost be said for his reason to stay.

He ultimately had no purpose in Konoha anymore, let alone this world for that matter. His choices saw to that result no matter how inadvertent they were in terms of a conclusion. Death was the most likely outcome for a Vindicare Assassin when retreat wasn't an option after all.

An exact same response for Kira Blanc for that matter, but here they were... well here he was while the woman busied herself with the 'village' for the foreseeable future.

He done what he done as he saw fit, and he had no regrets to it. Regrets only served to drive assassins of any kind insane after so many years of service. Now he was left with absolutely nothing now other than fight, die, and see the world in between.

Just like his life before the Imperium deemed him fit for termination.

Ensuring his rifle was hidden well enough under his cloak, he didn't look back as he crossed the threshold of the village he 'tormented' for the past collection of years.

XVX

Unknown cave

"You're acting recklessly, _'Tobi_._'_" The masked man narrowed his only visible eye at the holographic image of the Akatsuki's leader...

"Timing was of the essence in both cases," he answered, his manner reserved as can be while two hands slowly fisted behind him.

"While that might be, your haste and showboating leaves much to be desired. Such as the Nine-Tailed host's injury for example, while the process _will_ kill him, it would only compound the work if-"

"If anything he would have been crippled for life at worst. The only mistake I made was believing that woman was composed enough to not give into her rage so soon," Tobi dismissed. His mask, though to hide his identity, helped serve concealing the smirk he had when the hologram's eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"I would _suggest_ you be more cautious in the future _Tobi_," the projection added before dispersing. 'Tobi' scoffed as he turned on his heel and marched out. "You may have the so called power of god," he grumbled, "but you aren't the one who can cheat death."

"Now what to do with our little hosts," he quietly pondered as he neared daylight being fed through the entrance. Undoubtedly the villages would only tighten security around both home and their tools...

But there were far more harder tasks than eluding guards and duping fools. Especially when deities were involved.

XVX

Patient Room Four-Fifty-One, Konoha Hospital, a day later

Where voices were dull at best, the sensation of a familiar pair of fingers massaging a scalp was unmistakable; he almost never wanted to open his eyes to the world around him. Yet where drug addled senses were brought back to their peak thanks to the immune system that made those like him all but impossible to remain ill for weeks, his attention was forced upon the familiar figure of the only known cyclopean man in Konoha, outside of Naruto as of late, sitting on a stool a foot away from the bed.

"I'll bet you will be glad to know that you would be ready to be discharged in a couple of weeks to see if your new eye takes," Kakashi chimed with an eye-smile and the slight tilt of the head. His mood, fake or not, wasn't perturbed when Naruto mustered a guttural, non-hostile growl in response.

It was quelled with but a tap of the head by pair of fingers and the gentle admonishing that came afterward. "Don't be in a hurry... one shouldn't be eager to get back out on the battlefield."

"Should I leave you two alone?" Kakashi queried with the slow drawing of his normal eye.

"I will not force you to leave..." Kakashi waved her off as he got up and made for the door. On the reflective surface of a nearby abandoned IV stand, the spied on Burūmūn, now adorned with an eyepatch to cover her left eye, as she gently kept the near endless rubbing going on the blond chunin's scalp where the medical gauze didn't touch.

A frown slightly marked itself under his mask as he considered her situation. Being a rogue shinobi, and slayer of under fifty members bearing her last name, her guarantee of life hung on a precarious balance between her deeds and her espionage of the Akatsuki coupled with the donation of her sharingan...

While the former two could be explain, it wasn't excusable...

He shook his head, unnoticed by the pair in the hospital room and the Anbu guard he passed upon entering the hallway, as he drew out his book. "What happens, happens," he muttered to no one. He could have stayed to facilitate what questions that may come... but even he wasn't heartless enough to disrupt the potentially last moments between, Minato and Kushina forgive him, a mother and son.


	28. Fin

**For story content, please refer to the page before this. This is not a story chapter.**

**A/N: While true I could've put these notes on the previous chapter, I believe they would've been better here.**

**To be blunt, I'm ending this particular story.**

**I'll be honest, I've been struggling with this story lately. At one time I know where I was going and had the drive to go to it but unfortunately, as a revelation that occurred while writing chapter 24 had revealed onto me, I lost both. As a direct result, my desire to even write ****_Assassin_**** quickly dwindled with each stroke of the keyboard and the forced drive of my mind to even think of what to write.**

**It only gotten worse to the point where I was coming up reasons to ****_not write_**** this story at all. With that said, I came to the conclusion of concluding this story as concluded till I find the spark to run around with this story once again. No plans for a sequel, hopefully better than the original, as of yet.**

**If you have complaints aimed at improving the structure of this story, feel free to voice them as I would occasionally come back to this story to do some editing. If those complaints however are just flames, all I have to say is that I don't recall coercing you into reading ****_Assassin_**** to begin with where you could've simply left the link alone.**

**With that said, thank you all for taking the time to stick with me and ****_Assassin_**** to the end and I hope you enjoyed the ride.**

**For what it's worth, an extra chapter will come out soon for a small issue I had hoped to tie into the story somehow. Again, thank you all for the time you had taken out of your lives into reading ****_Assassin_****. I hope you have a good day, evening, or night wherever you are.**


	29. Extra

**I imagine you all known the disclaimer by heart by now, I do not own Naruto or Warhammer, etc. ****For Story Content, please refer to chapter 27 or the notes on the page before this one.**

**This particular 'chapter' is merely an extra to tie up loose ends in my book. If you are reading this because it was recently dubbed "updated" then in all likelihood I had altered something from the original content as a perceived correction of what was deemed a problem/mistake.**

Assassin

_Recipient: Ordo Hereticus, High Office_

_Dispatcher: Inquisitor Sovi_

_Ref: INQ 119# 20-21_

_Sub: Speculation_

_My Lord, I believe we may have chanced upon something of a discovery regarding the agents whom have defected during the course of their assignment._

_As you may know my Lord, both agents were a part of long respected institutions dedicated of bringing the wrath of our Lord Emperor upon those who dare threaten the sanctity of the Imperium's sovereign right to maintain order and as such are conditioned to withstand the rigors of what their assignments entail and show no remorse of what they are to do or what they had done. In a backtracking from our latest assignment to slay the heretic Kira Blanc in hopes of gleaning the reasoning behind her sudden defection after two decades of faithful service to the Golden Throne of Terra and the Inquisition alike, I have encountered an individual who by chance had encountered the more elder traitor Roderick Gryphon._

_It seems that during his last assignment, his conditioning forged by years of suppressing rebellions and even heretical uprisings, to which his valor and covert abilities were given exceptional renown during his tenure as a Lieutenant of the Imperial Guard stationed there to which earned the favorable eye of the Officio Assassinorum, combined by the training provided by the Vindicare Temple, had seemed to have come undone; hesitance and a sense of bitterness in claiming the life of those our office had deemed threatening seemed to have became a part of his nature whereas Kira had taken to being more lax in her duty and pursuing her own interests. The only common factor which they had shared is that they had the exact same assignment to slay the mutant of Agora Prime, Providence Sector._

_It is same planet that is in open revolt against the glory of the Imperium yet hosts the interesting quality of being resistant, immune even, to the corruptions of the warp, both of which was made present a little under a year ago._

_While doubtful that a lone newborn mutant is capable of subverting the loyalties of trained assassins, it is however worrying enough that we may want to exercise caution when sending more agent to end not only this disruption but the life of this abomination and mockery to the human race. A purge is strongly recommended if this problem persists in future endeavors in regards of the disloyal sect that occupies one of Holy Terra's worlds._

_-Inquisitor Sovi_

**A/N: When I originally made Roderick, as a younger buck than closer to a century old, the original reason for his defection was that he fled from battle when his position was overwhelmed.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


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